Momiji's Files: Yuasa High
by RennyRose
Summary: Momiji has led a difficult life, and she's only 14 years old. But, there's one thing making her life bearable: Ghost Hunting. Then, one day, a strange man catches her doing something she doesn't want anyone seeing, not once, but twice! When her life's in danger, she'll have to rely on this stranger and for some reason, she can't get him out of her mind.(I don't own GH or TB)
1. Chapter 1: Momiji's Stress Relief

Today has been the worst. My father, who's ruined my life, shows up out of nowhere, and then some girls decide to pick a fight with me. Just because I'm younger than they are. I suppose, I could usually handle these stressors pretty well, but lately I've been unimaginably paranoid. I've spent more nights than usual lying awake, my mind racing with strange thoughts and days searching to see if someone is staring at me. I am almost sure I've seen someone following me here and there.

Usually, I would just drop whatever was bugging me and get over it, but I'm really stressing about whether or not one of my favorite afterschool activities has gotten me into a great deal of danger. It isn't something I do very often, but because of who my parents are, it is something that I've always had a bit of an affinity for. Ghost hunting has become more popular as of late, but it's still not something normal teenaged girls do in their free time.

Feeding negative energy makes it stronger, but sometimes it gets to a point where I just can't deal with it. Not without a little assistance, that is. So, it's time to play a little piano!

The hallway leading to the oldest music room is just as empty as usual. The tap of my school shoes echoes around me, sending small thrills down my spine. My gaze wanders to the empty rooms, not a soul to be found. Any of the school clubs that have to do with music avoid this third floor hallway like it's cursed. Part of it is they prefer the newer instruments and equipment. I personally like the older, rarely used room. I like my solitude. A smirk plays over my lips as I look at the door of the, "Forgotten Music Room." Because no one comes to the room, it's effectively been turned into one of the school's Seven Mysteries. I probably haven't helped the rumors by hiding when someone does a bravery test to see who's playing the supposedly haunted piano. I have plenty of time to hide as they giggle and shout on their way to the room.

Walking past a darkened room, I catch a glimpse of a ghostly figure, a smile firmly resting across my lips. I turn my full attention to my reflection and stop myself from laughing. My skin is so pale, it's almost translucent, a dark red mass of hair foams around my shoulders, somehow defying gravity while constantly in motion. If someone were to only catch the tiniest of glances of me, they would probably have a miniature heart attack.

I chuckle, turning to make my way towards the small room, the lack of people already bringing a smile to my face. Perhaps it's not nice, but I don't like people. They just get in the way, so if they think I'm a ghost and run away, I'm fine with that. A chuckle bubbles up my throat. Before the old school building collapsed, I had wandered around the second floor. At some point, I looked out one of the windows and a senior was staring back up at me. The look on her face was so funny I almost hurt myself laughing. Of course, after that the rumors intensified so much that the principal actually called in a group of paranormal investigators.

My arm stretches out, fingers hooking into the small groove to slide the door open. The room is plain, almost boring with several rows of desks and a piano in the corner. There's writing on the chalkboard that hadn't been there before.

'This room isn't scary.' It reads. I smile to myself as I walk over to the green board, pull out a small package of special chalk sticks that look like blood, and scribble a response just under the statement.

This'll keep them away for a while. If you let them get comfortable, they come more often and make the room unenjoyable.

Teeth sink into my lower lip as I try to stop the chuckles that quickly pop into my chest, then make my way over to the piano. Delicate fingertips run along the fallboard as I make my way closer to the window overlooking the track field. I give a quick glance out shows a group of boys timing girls as they run or leering as they stretch. I'm sure if one of the many students were to look up, they would see me for the shortest of moments and the rumors would start anew that the room is occupied by a being not of this world. My lip curls at the thought before I move between the bench and the piano, smoothing the skirt of my uniform as I carefully sit myself down.

For just a few moments, I wonder what it would be like to join a club, hang out with girls my age, act like a normal kid, and maybe make a few friends. Then, I remember that normal kids don't go ghost hunting. Though, some do try to prove that their schools are haunted. My gaze wanders to the chalkboard for a moment, mind wandering to my extracurricular activities. Everyone is always saying this school is filled with ghosts, but I've never come across one. As far as I know, the only supernatural things going on are the mysteries of being a teenager, perhaps some latent psychic powers. There's a girl somewhere in the school that insists that spirits from the war float around.

"What was that girl's name? Kuroda?" I ask myself aloud. One of my hands slips to the back of my neck, massaging the flesh that is suddenly prickling cold. Eyes wide, I stare at my hands as freezing air flows across my skin. I quickly twist, a frown distorting my features. I had hoped to catch whoever was breathing down my neck in the rarely used room, only to be shocked by the complete emptiness of the room.

I shrug, turning back to the beautiful instrument in front of me, slowly running my hands along the fallboard before lifting it up to run my finger pads against the ivory keys. With a quick press of a finger here and there I send a couple of notes vibrating notes through the room, and then I start playing scales. A play the scales a few times then carefully transition into a melody, slow and sad. When I reach the end of the melody, I start from the beginning, and sing along the notes, the words just as sad and depressing as the tones and notes that escape the wooden beast to fill the room.

My body sways in time to the percussion notes, leaning to the sides and closer to the keys. Soon the words become more and more melancholy, my breath escaping in small gasps. My heart breaks as the end of the song approaches. To emphasize the ending, I vocalize a harmony to the dying notes that fill the room. Silence slowly fills the room as the last note finally dies.

For a couple of minutes, I sit there breathing as deeply as my lungs will allow as the quiet of the room becomes deafening and a quiet ringing fills my ears. I carefully place the fallboard back in place, a small sigh passing my lips. My heart has come back down to a nice, even pace. It's much better than when I had first entered the room. I'm pretty sure there's nothing that can take me back into panic mode.

A smile spreads over my lips and I can feel my eyes glaze over slightly. I could almost handle going home and dealing with my mother for a few hours, maybe make sure she hasn't had so much to drink that she'll wind up a slurring slob of anger.

My eyes wander to the window to my left. The sky's turned into a brilliant shade of vermillion. I suppose the sun's about to start setting. It's strangely beautiful, almost too beautiful to handle. I know that not a lot of time has passed, but it feels like it's been hours since I entered the room. I'm so utterly lost in my thoughts that the sudden, slow and sharp sound of a clap literally fills me with instant terror. Someone's in the room and they're clapping. They had come into the room without my noticing them, listened to me playing and singing, and for some reason enjoyed it.


	2. Chapter 2: The Stranger

Faster than a train, I've jumped from the bench, spun to face the intruder, and my eyes are narrowed at the man at the other end of the room. It's obviously a man, a very tall one. There's a gentle smile on his pale lips. I press the back of my thighs against the instrument behind me, trying to push through it as if it's nothing but air, yet it gives no yield. I look away from him for a few seconds to stare at the open door at the back of the classroom, a small frown forming on my lips. There's no reason I shouldn't have heard the door open or a person walking into the room.

My eyes slowly wander back to the strange man and take a second to look him over. He's quite handsome. He's around his mid-twenties, not much older than some of the younger teachers in the school. Half of his face is hidden behind black fringe, but what I can see is completely full of awe, almost like he'd just come from one of the best concerts of his life. His eye, the one that I can see, is grey. Biting at the inside of my cheek, my eyes slowly trace his cheek bones and jaw, down to his neck. His smile is gentle and one of his arms fall to his side while the other rests against his stomach.

Carefully tilting my head to the side, my hair slides over half of my face, hiding the sudden heat that's turned my face a bright red. My eyes slowly drift towards the floor, giving me ample opportunity to check out the rest of him. He's wearing a business suit, his jacket folded over the arm against his stomach, leaving his white button up and vest naked to the world. His shoulders are broad, leading into strong arms, then to his trimmed waist and toned legs. I can feel the corner of my lips tug into a small smirk. He works out in some way; he's probably very good in a fight and perhaps other things. His skin is so smooth and pale, almost as pale as my own, which is fairly impressive.

He's also tall, very tall. I have to look up, even from across the room to meet his eyes. He definitely puts my 160 cm to shame.

With a deep, calming breath, I listen to the sound of my heart pounding in my chest slow down. I find this man very attractive and my heart races just looking at him. It's a strange feeling. It's so strange that I start to wonder if perhaps this feeling is what girls are always talking about. A crush, or maybe infatuation. This can only lead to trouble.

"You're very good." He says in a calm, collected voice. His voice is deep and just a tad quiet, almost like he doesn't speak too often. For a few moments, I continue to stare at him trying to think of something that won't sound completely stupid. After it starts to feel like an eternity has passed, I feel a shiver run through my legs. This man had only said three words and I'm already about to fall to my knees begging for his attentions. Something in the pit of my stomach flutters through my chest, leaving me breathless. I hope that the next time I speak, that it's not obvious.

"Th..Thank you. Shouldn't you make more noise when you walk into a room? Maybe even introduce yourself?" I reply, my voice shaking much more than I had hoped. For years, I'd built a wall around my emotions and actions, but somehow this man has completely torn every shield I've put up.

His lips parts, only to close once again as the sound of footsteps echo down the hallway towards us. It only takes a few seconds, but it feels like an eternity, when a girl quickly enters the room. Her chestnut brown bob flows gently behind her as she confidently makes her way over to the tall man at the back of the classroom. I know this girl; I've seen her several times around the school, though usually not out of her uniform. She's wearing a sweater with snowflake design set in a light blue stripe across her chest and dark capris. I try to come up with some kind of answer as to why she's at school in clothes that would likely get her in trouble. It doesn't really matter, so I drop it.

"There you are!" She calls her voice unnecessarily cheerful, especially for someone standing in a supposedly haunted room. "I can't believe we got separated. Not only that, but you ended up in the, 'Haunted Music Room'! I managed to get the work and homework I missed today."

Both, the man and I are frozen in place, as if acknowledging her presence will break the odd spell that seems to have been cast upon the two of us. Though, perhaps one of us should have, because after the few seconds of silence from the man, while she acts like it's normal for him to ignore her, she realizes that he's staring at something, or someone, and she herself freezes in place. She trembles slightly, slowly turning towards me, as if I'm some kind of monster. I almost have to stop myself from laughing at the look on her face.

The moment her eyes land on me, she instantly relaxes. Of course, she quickly becomes serious, which seems to be the only way she acts around me. "Momiji? Are you okay?" Her voice calls out, obviously concerned for my wellbeing. I know that she's just worried for me, she's seen me in pretty bad shape, though those instances were more extreme. Despite knowing she only has good intentions, I feel heat and anger quickly filling my stomach and chest. If she had come into the room a few moments earlier, she'd have heard one of my little hobbies. She'd tell everyone, and my peace at school would be ruined. How dare she threaten one of the few good things in my life? She had abandoned this room just like everyone else has!

The anger quickly fills my mind and I can't keep it in. I've never really been too great at controlling my temper. The anger and disgust I'd felt earlier, renewed itself and added to the new, irrational anger. It just gets stronger and stronger until I can hear it bursting from my mouth before I can stop myself and think rationally and calmly.

"I'm fine! I don't need you looking after me! Who do you think you are? My mom?" I start, knowing my words are cruel and unfounded, but I can't make myself stop. I've always dealt with things mostly on my own or with my tiny circle of friends, a circle that this girl does not belong to. "Why don't you just mind your own business? " My voice echoes in the suddenly quiet room.

My lungs quickly fill with air, only to deflate within milliseconds. Hyperventilating… I'm hyperventilating. Breathing in this room is suddenly impossible, and I need to leave, fast. The girl at the opposite end of the room makes a move, and I am suddenly moving. I bolt from the room, faster than I have ever moved.

Before I really have the chance to register what's happened, I find myself on the highest point of the school. I've got the perfect view of the old school house, or what's left of it after its collapse last April, the front gate, and the field of students. All of the strength in my body is suddenly gone and I fall to my knees. My breathing, which is quick and labored, slowly starts to calm down and become normal. In the distance, the sound of a car engine sounds and then zooms off into the distance. Boys and girls are chatting away so loudly, the sound carries easily in the cold, still air. The calming, cold air.

I lay down against the concrete of the raised roof, every muscle in my body completely exhausted. I stare into the sky, smiling at the ever changing colors of the above head jewel. A quiet growling sound echoes through my bones. My hand moves to rest on my stomach, an automatic movement, as if I'm trying to calm an agitated animal.

No one comes up to the roof at this time of day, leaving me comfortable enough to really relax. There's a hint of blue left at the very edge of the sky, telling me it's probably long past time for me to get going. Jumping a fence is never a fun thing to do, but especially in a skirt. With a more than practiced roll, I carefully fall from the small roof and land with the quietest thump possible just below. For a moment, I wonder if spending the night at school would end up being more fun than going home, dealing with a drunkard for a little while, then going off to another school to see if my theory on the activity is correct.

My gaze wanders to the horizon one more time. The landscape is so beautiful; it would be romantic to have someone, possibly someone very tall, to share it with. It takes me a moment, but my eyes widen and I very literally shake the idea out of my head. I'm not the kind of girl who's into romance. The idea of letting someone get so close to me that they could break my heart with a few words and the look on their face, is something I would never be able to handle.

I look at the beautiful view one last time and move through the door leading to the stairs down just as a cold wind rushes against my back. It feels like a hand is pressing against the small of my back, shoving me to move faster.

Carefully making my way down, I avoid the room of the piano. It seemed to take me only a few minutes to get the main entry way and walk over to the shoe locker that contains my plain brown loafers.

I sigh, tapping the toe of my shoes against the mat at my feet. My legs carry me towards the gate, mind full of thoughts of the strange man and Mai. What kind of relationship do they have? Why wasn't Mai in Uniform? How and why had they ended up in my music room? I'd have to find a way to keep those two as far from that room as possible, should I want to keep it to myself. Perhaps I'll ask Mika for some ideas on the issue tonight. But, I'd have to go home to get ready for the case before I could do that.

Then, my thoughts shift onto how I'm going to deal with my drunkard of a mother. My eyes move between staring at the ground under my feet and the beautiful trees that suddenly surround me on the residential street I've somehow gotten to. I smile at the naked branches as they gently sway in the winds loving embrace. A sad smile quickly overtakes my features as a wave of sadness fills my chest. I wish I could live in this moment for eternity. No strange people interrupting my privacy, no nosy girls trying to mother me while my own mother either tries to kill me or makes me wish I had never been born. Just me, the wind and beautiful trees.

Serenity fills my stomach, making me smile gently to myself as I slowly walk next to one of the many tall walls surrounding the side streets of the area. It runs through my stomach for a few minutes before quickly being squashed by the feeling of eyes boring into the flesh of my neck. My stomach tenses and my legs start to move me towards my destination faster. The faster I move the worse it gets. I'm almost running when the feeling of breath on the back of my neck forces me to spin around faster than I've ever moved in my entire life. I frown at the empty ally, one of my hands coming up to lightly rub at the goosebumps prickling at the back of my neck.

Something strange is going on.


	3. Chapter 3: The Meet Up

My frown deepens as I search for someone that's not there. Spinning back around, I start running towards the house where all my belongings are. The sooner I get there, the faster I can do what I need to, to go see my friends. A shiver tears through my body as I run, because the feeling of breath against the back of my neck doesn't stop until I'm safely through the front door. Even though I'm safe from the strange feeling, my senses are bombarded by the smell of liquor. For a millisecond, I almost wonder if she's poured all of it on the floor so that she can set the place on fire. I easily kick off the loafers and listen for noise in the house. The sound of snoring comes from the living room, so I follow it to find her hanging off the couch.

I smile, carefully stepping over bottles and glasses. I stand over her for a few moments before leaning down to pull her fully onto the couch, pulling a soft blanket over her so she doesn't get cold. The smell of alcohol is beyond overpowering and I have to keep my nose covered against the sour scent. Looking the sleeping woman over, I can feel a speck of pity for the woman. Perhaps she's a mean drunk and forgetful when it comes to grocery shopping, I can't really blame her for anything. After everything Father's done, I'm grateful she didn't abandon me.

Trudging up the stairs to my room, I press my head against the plain door, my stomach growling angrily at me. I'm starving, but the last time I checked, our fridge was completely empty. With thoughts of home cooked meals filling my mind, I slowly push through the door, feet dragging along the floor, I fall face first into my bed. I suppose you could say that my day wasn't very eventful, but I feel like I've been hit by a bus. My shoulders and back are so tense; perhaps it wouldn't be such a good idea to hunt for the dead. The wall in front of me starts to blur and my eyes start to drift to a close when a blast of cold air blows across the back of my neck.

Grumbling loudly, I force my body off of the bed. I walk over to the small dresser in one of the room's corners and start to rummage for the outfit I would need for tonight. Soon, I've stripped down to pull on a pair of baggy black sweatpants, a tight crimson T-shirt with sleeves that stop halfway down my upper arms. The colors make my skin look even paler. Looking at my reflection in the small mirror hanging on my wall, my blue-gray eyes pop out. I chuckle for a moment, and then pull the mass of dark auburn hair back into a messy bun, a couple of pieces falling around my cheeks. Pulling on a black, knit cap over the bun, I effectively trap a majority of the unruly mass. Black gloves, socks, and a pair of plain black tennis shoes completely the look.

I look around for a moment at the dark room, a small sigh escaping my throat. The light from the setting sun is the only thing making it possible to see. I turn towards my bedroom window, push it open, and then climb onto a thick branch of the tree that grows near the back of the house. Forcing myself to balance on the thin bit of wood, I carefully push the window to appear as if it's closed. One foot after the other, I make my way towards the trunk. A few feet from the body of the tree, one of my feet slips and my body starts falling to the side. It takes me five seconds to grab hold of the tree trunk, breath coming in small gasps. My gaze slowly turns to the ground and my head starts to spin. It takes me about ten minutes to climb down the body of the tree, and when I'm finally on solid, level ground my legs start to shake.

Taking a quick survey of the area around me, I try to see if anyone has just seen my perilous journey down the tree. Once I've verified that I haven't been seen, I look back at the tree and give it a quiet thank you for not killing me tonight, and leave the small back yard. Once on the street, I turn in the direction of the city and start the long trek to the meeting place, the back of my neck itching the entire way.

I can feel a genuine smile start to cross my lips at the thought of seeing my two best friends in the whole world. They're a couple of years older than me and go to a different school, but they don't look down on me for any reason. They are the best partners in Crime a girl could ask for. We've also been friends since we were little. We know all of each other's secrets. They even know that sometimes, Uncle Ken and I still talk. Uncle Ken is the man that my mother and father had decided to have me marry. Of course, that was before he had died. Now-a-days, it seems like no one even remembers him. I was only five at the time, but I remember his Dark, honey hair and kind eyes.

Lost in thought, I barely register that I've already made it into the city and downtown to the bench we always meet up at. I carefully sit down and watch as people walk by. My legs are shaking, probably from having run around so much. A few people cast suspicious glances at me as they walk by, to which I give them an innocent smile. A face of pure innocence. Some of them blush and look away instantly, others just look away like they had misjudged me. I'll keep the mask in place, soon there will be those who love me and that I don't need to hide from. Hiding my emotions keeps people away, which is fine, but there are some who catch a glimpse if they catch me off guard. I let my gaze fall to the ground, my arms trembling as the cold air touches my bare skin.

"Is that Momiji or a skeleton with skin?" A deep, feminine voice calls from a few feet away. I quickly glance up to watch Mika saunter over in all of her dark glory. Black, form fitting pants, shoes, gloves, shirt; all black. Long, silky, straight black hair pulled back into a high, tight ponytail leaves her soft, beautiful features for everyone to see. High cheekbones, bright blue-green eyes, full pale pink lips, a long slender neck that tempts you to kiss it. Her body is thin, but healthy. Perfect for swimming or running, yet still curvaceous. I feel a pout play over my lips, jealousy playing through my chest. I've spent so many nights at her house, that I know she doesn't do a single thing to keep that body, and that her hair is the softest thing in the world. Then I feel my eyes wander to the convenience store bag, hanging off of her forearms.

I feel the pout on my lips quickly disappear into a sigh as a chuckle starts to escape my throat. Of course she would have something to eat. It's almost like we're about to go on a picnic instead of ghost hunting.

A wicked smile crosses her features and she practically glides over, her hand reaching out and pinching my nose. She pinches it closed until my mouth shoots open to get as much air as possible. As soon as it's open, she shoves a ball of rice into my mouth. She releases me and I take a huge bite of the mystery flavored onigiri. I instantly regret my decision and feel my entire upper body shiver and try to close in on itself as the pickled plum jam coat my tongue. Once I've regained my bearings, I glare at her, quickly eating the monstrosity she's forced onto me. The entire time I chew at the sour triangle, she's laughing her butt off.

"You are the most sadistic woman I know." I chuckle, playfully smacking her shoulder as she easily wraps one of her arms around my shoulders, sitting next to me with as seductive a smirk as she can manage.

"I know. That's what makes these so much sweeter." She purrs out quietly, giving me a quick peck on the cheek. As my face burns and becomes five shades of red, she bursts into laughter and I almost start to smack her again.

With a sigh, the heat in my cheeks actually feels like a strange kind of burn as I stare at the rice that's stuck to my gloves. I lick the small bits off of the cloth for a few moments as Mika begins to dish out the contents of her small bag, folding it and slipping it into her pocket. I smile softly, knowing that she had probably gotten all this food just in case I was hungry. Who knows where I'd be if she didn't sneak me food. We smile at one another for a few more moments before she leans over and licks a grain of rice from my cheek. "You shouldn't waste food, love!"

The heat in my cheeks intensifies as I look away from her to the small feast she's laid between the two of us. Tuna, eel, even spicy cod. Which I probably wouldn't eat. I chuckle and pick one, almost at random and start to dig in as Mika does the same.

"You think he'll be late?" I asks, voice slightly muffled by the food in my mouth.

"Probably. He'd be late to his own funeral." She jokes, hoping it'll be funnier than it is, considering what we're about to do. I roll my eyes at her and stare at the nearest clock. It's several minutes past the time we've agreed on. Mika, I understand having taken longer than usual just because of the bag of food on her arm.

As I continue to stare at the clock, the sound of footsteps quickly approaching easily fills my ears and a smile plays across my lips.

Seconds later, Daisuke comes to a stop right in front of the two of us, panting. He's tall, slightly muscular, less than the mystery man from school, and almost the polar opposite of Mika and I. He needs glasses, so he wears a pair of thick-rimmed, square frames that are in style, so nobody makes fun of him for wearing them, mostly because they accentuate his face. His naturally spiky, milk chocolate hair falls past his ears so that it looks like a velvety stuffed animal. As for his muscles, you can't really tell they're there unless he's holding you or he wears the right clothes. A few feet away, the sound of girls talking catches my attention. They're talking about the cute boy that just walked up to the two weird girls. Something about how cute the boy is and how they'd totally ask him out if they didn't already have boyfriends. It's strange to hear girls talking about Daisuke, because to me he's just one of my best friends from childhood.

As he stands there, hunched over trying to catch his breath, I give him a quick once over. He's got a nice silhouette, especially in the tight royal blue shirt that accentuates his muscles and the black pants that fit tight against his thighs. As long as he can move around easily, they'll be fine. Black sneakers and gloves complete the look. The color he's wearing is really nice against his lightly tanned skin, as well as brings out the blue flecks in his hazel eyes. I bite the inside of my cheek, glancing back at the clock.

"I… Hope you two… Weren't waiting long… Think you can…Forgive me…?"He manages to gasp between breaths. His voice is nice and deep, and the breathiness makes his voice more sensual. He has pretty good control over his voice and I've seen him use it to melt girls in their shoes to get them to leave them alone. It's pretty funny to watch. They'll act like love-struck fools, fainting or running into things because they're blushing so hard they become delirious.

Mika and I look to one another, mischievous glints playing in our eyes. We both smirk. "Nope! You're going to have to make us lunch next Saturday if you want forgiveness!" The two of us simultaneously say. Over the years, the three of us have developed a relationship so close that we often think the same things and sometimes say them. There've even been a couple of times where we've all done it at the same time and freaked some poor passersby out. I chuckle and look at their cheerful faces. A thought crosses my mind. These two are so special that I would give my life to keep them safe.


	4. Chapter 4: The Train Ride

As the three of us are laughing amongst ourselves, the back of my neck itches for what feels like the hundredth time today. Someone's got to be staring at me this time. The gaze feels so intense that I'm sure it'll burn a hole through my skin. And, once again, there's no obvious culprit. I make sure to look around as subtly as I possibly can, but frown at the lack of suspects.

Daisuke chuckles under his lack of breath, but nods to our demands.

"It's time to go, you two." I chuckle, slowly standing from the bench, ignoring the hair at the back of my neck standing on end. Easily turning on my heel, I start to hand towards the nearest subway station entrance, not a doubt in my mind that the two were close behind me. As I make my way down the steep set of stairs that leads underground, my eyes wander from side to side to look around the slightly dark hallway, going over the details of the case in my head. There were rumors circulating of a school being tormented by an unprecedented amount of incidents. It started with a girl who could mend spoons with her mind. Eventually, it escalated pretty quickly to girls being dragged by trains, I believe most are still in the hospital, things being moved around in the track team's changing room, a teacher seeing spirits everywhere and coughing up blood, even a girl possessed by a fox. There was even a girl who'd been touched by something that had to go to the hospital.

I quietly chastise myself for not taking this case sooner, things have gotten so out of hand that it's going to take a lot of energy to try and get things closer to normal. My friends and I may be an amateur group, but we know when things are legit, and we can even help in certain situations. Having a couple of the world's most revered spiritualists as parents has some advantages.

My mind wanders back to the old collapsed school house. We'd investigated the building, and there was nothing. Sure it creaked and groaned, but that was all. It was just dark and spooky, which was probably why everyone kept making up stories about it. There hadn't been anything there. The principal had made an announcement about the building, saying there had been a poltergeist that had been exorcised by a special group he had called in. I'd seen some of them in passing, it was a strange mix. Of course, I didn't believe a word of it. A poltergeist can't generally be exercised. Most of them are human-made. If there had been one, it wouldn't have been strong enough to make the building collapse. I think I'd read somewhere that there was an aquifer under the structure that probably dried out a long time ago.

There's silence around us, which is fairly strange since it's usually bustling with an insane amount of people. I look from side to side, trying to find anyone, yet finding no one. There's a whoosh of air, and a train is suddenly pulling into the station right in front of us. Once the doors slide open, we walk into the train car and take a seat on the side opposite of the doors. I look from one end of the car to the other, surveying the people in the train.

There's a young brunette woman in a pink business suit. She's very pretty, hair barely grazing the tops of her ears. She's wearing pink lipstick and reading a book and a little over a foot next to her, is a bag and an umbrella. I bet she's very nice.

There's also a man. He's wearing jeans, a dark yellow shirt with a black over shirt and a black baseball cap pulled to cover his slightly angular face and blond hair. He looks extremely suspicious, but I suppose my little group of trespassing ghost hunters shouldn't make any harsh judgements.

A sigh escapes my throat and I reach into the pocket of my sweat pants, pulling out a small notebook. Flipping through the pages, I look over the notes I've got on the school. If I'm right, we're going to have quite the search ahead of us. As the train bumps along, I can feel someone staring at me once again. My teeth dig into the flesh of my lip and I couldn't resist the urge to look up. I didn't expect to find a pair of cold, unfeeling eyes staring right at me. Fear instantly filled my stomach as a smirk quickly filled his features.

I shiver slightly, dropping my gaze back to the book in my hands. Our stop is coming up pretty fast and I find myself hoping the girl in the pink suit will get off of the train with us.

In moments, the train comes to a stop and two hands rest on my elbows. My gaze wanders to my two friends, then two the door leading to the next car, where a young man sits with some headphones covering his ears. I blink for a moment, only to be pulled by the two amateur hunters out of the train. Struggling slightly, I pull at their hold, looking back to see if the woman's left the car. Of course, when I look back, all I see is the man, smirking, waving goodbye as he starts to move towards the woman, and the train zooms off.

"We've got to get going, Momiji. If we don't get there fast, we won't have any time." Mika jokes, knowing we'll have more than enough time. "That guy is trouble. And while I know you love looking for trouble, I think you should stay far away from him." She whispers quietly.

"But, the woman…" I whisper back, sadness racing through my chest.

"She'll be fine." Daisuke muses, unconvincingly. He doesn't believe what he's saying any more than I do. But, he knows we can't really be of any help to her, even if we had stayed. Though, perhaps our presence would have helped more than we thought.

As we step out into fresh air, we start to make our way towards the school I had been observing for about a month or so, while at the same time, sending a prayer for the woman's safety.


	5. Chapter 5: We've Been Caught!

We walk quickly through the streets, trying to avoid the stares of anyone that is still out and about. The sun has gone down, and street lights are starting to come on. If someone were to see us, they'd probably think we are up to no good.

It doesn't take us long to come to a large, closed gate. The school's nameplate says, 'Yuasa High School.' I smile to myself, looking at the cold bars that are just begging to be climbed. Looking between Mika and Daisuke, I quickly jump onto the bars, using the soles of my sneakers to propel my body upwards while my gloved hands slid along the cold metal. Once at the top, I jump down and turning to see the two elder teenagers jumping down as well.

Quietly, we wander from tree to tree, hiding behind them just in case there's a camera or a security guard, not that I've seen one in the last month. We reach a window with a brown carton just under the sill. Passersby would see it, and probably think someone was peeking in. Luckily, no one had moved it. Despite everything, I guess today's been pretty lucky.

I easily jump onto the wooden box, pressing my face and the palms of my hands against the window, looking around just to make sure there's no one around. Gently pushing at the glass, I tried to open it and a frown quickly takes over my features. No luck getting it open. The window is locked tighter than a vacuum seal. Someone must have found the tiny paper I'd stuck in the latch to keep it open.

"Someone finally found it. Only took them forever." I chuckle, looking back at the two, nodding. They return the nod and move back a couple of feet. I reach into one of my pockets, pulling out a red scarf and wrap it around my hand a couple of times. Bracing myself, I pull my hand back as far as possible. "Looks like it's the hard way tonight." I mumble, quickly forcing my hand forward in as hard a punch as my tiny arm can manage. The glass shatters inwards, but a couple of shards do come flying back and slice my arm in a couple of places.

I lift myself up and into the hallway, careful to avoid the glass on the ground, and move over to the door just across the hall. Sliding it open, I remove the scarf from my hand and sandwich it between the door and its jamb. It'll be easy to spot, even if we're running for our lives.

The room is a conference room that the school probably doesn't use that often. I look to my left down the hall and I can almost see the shoe lockers from here. As I'm looking, a pale figure moves across the hallway. I squint slightly, confusion filling my mind. It was only a flicker, so it's probably just a figment of my imagination. I carefully chew at my index finger. Of all the times I'd been here at night, there'd never been any figures. I suppose I have something to ponder later, there's no way there's a spirit here. And there's no way it's got anything to do with the case. Probably. I quickly go over the mental blue print I've made of the school and start walking further and further away from the main entrance, there's a set of stairs nearby that will put us pretty close to the room we're going to.

"So, my precious little princess," a deep, feminine voice purrs next to my ear, "What have you found out about the goings-on of Yuasa Highschool for Girls?"

"Well," I muse, watching my feet to make sure I don't trip. "It's pretty simple. Obviously, all of the things going on here wouldn't normally be abnormal, but there are simply too many occurrences for it to not be on purpose."

"Are you saying someone's doing this?" Daisuke whispers, following close behind me.

"I am. It basically all started with Kasai Chiaki. After vacation, she came back to school able to bend spoons, and it blew out of control. She threatened to curse someone, and then all of the strange and dangerous things started to happen." I answer him.

"Psychic powers are pretty unstable, right? So, if her powers just developed, I doubt she could actually curse someone." Mika whispers.

"Yeah. She's barely able to bend spoons anymore. If she gets a proper teacher, I'm sure she can get her abilities back in shape. Anyways, the school divided itself into skeptics and believers. Most of the victims that have seen spirits have been on the skeptic side. If you were to look at it from the outside, the obvious choice for a culprit would be Kasai." I whisper back to them, coming to a stop at the top of the second set of stairs.

"But, you don't think it's her." Daisuke says as if he doesn't believe it.

"It's one of those gut feelings. There are spirits around, but they don't belong to this area. Someone is cursing people. And they're using a lot of energy to do it." I answer him, even though he didn't really ask a question.

"Then what's happening here?" Mika asks, obviously unsure of what I mean.

"A form of Onmiyodo. To put it extremely simply, just think of someone using a straw doll to curse someone." I answer her. As we'd been talking, we had moved down the hallway towards the room with the cursed desk.

"Do you know how it is, yet?" Mika inquires, absently fixing her ponytail.

"I have a pretty good idea." I answer, stopping in front of the door to the back of the class room 2-5.

"So, what about the girls being dragged by trains? Were all of them on the skeptics side of the argument?" Daisuke interjects, his arms crossing over his chest.

"Actually, no." I answer, gently pushing the door open and walking towards the desk in the furthest corner. "The first girl was someone that Kasai knew, so there's my evidence that it's not her. If it was, then only the one girl would have been dragged by a train, but instead there've been several girls." I finish, easily sitting at the desk as if I wasn't bothered by the idea of getting dragged by a train.

The two teenagers sit in desks near me, watching me with knowing smiles. They know I've been coming to sit at this desk. They probably don't know that I've been going to train stations hoping to get dragged. Maybe I'm a bit masochistic, but it's for research.

Mika crosses her arms along the back of the chair she's in, looking at me with a mixture of curiosity and some warm emotion. "What about the girl that says she's possessed by a fox? What's her deal?"

I chuckle, leaning forward to place my forearms against the desk, chin resting in the palms of my hands. "She's not possessed. With the amount of spirits called here, it's a wonder that more girls haven't been affected. She's probably just extremely sensitive to spirits. Having so many around probably made her sick at first but the more that came around the more erratic her behavior became." I smile, tilting my head to the side. "She probably just needs to take a bit of time off or we should get this case solved fast."

For a little while, we sit in silence. My arms have crossed over the wood and it's basically the waiting game. Nothing's happened and I start to feel ridiculous. I almost start to laugh, only to have to choke it down as a horrifying thought flashes through my head. Kasai and Ubusuna know my name. If my theory's correct, there's probably a hitogata with my name somewhere out there. I know I'd told Kasai that I'm sure she's innocent and there's only one person that would be adversely affected if she was proven innocent.

A shiver runs down my spine. There's only two outcomes to my being cursed. I'll either die or be lucky enough to find the piece of wood with my name carved on it. Another shiver runs through my body, leaving me confused for a second. For some reason, the school advisors had decided to leave the heating system on, tonight. Sure, it's the middle of winter, but they normally don't turn it on until an hour before students arrive. This room should be ice cold anyways, but it's fairly warm. There's no reason I should be shaking.

There's a strange pressure against my hips. My gaze lowers and I freeze in place. There are two, masculine arms reaching from inside of the desk, holding onto my hips. I can feel horror filling my eyes, confusion stirring my thoughts. This activity hadn't been reported at this desk. I take a deep breath and calmly raise my head, though on the inside I'm almost a complete nervous wreck. As I'm raising my head, a flicker of light from the front of the classroom catches my attention and I freeze again.

There, sitting on the pedestal that the teachers use, is a huge, expensive looking camera. Pointing right at the desk we're at. My insides scream at me to run. We've been caught.


	6. Chapter 6: What is HE doing here!

Releasing a quiet squeak, I look between the two teens to see the recognition quickly fill their faces. It's a signal that we had all agreed to make if we ever suspected that we'd been caught. And we've definitely been caught. I easily jump away from the desk and start to dash for the door, the sound of chairs falling to the ground echoing from behind me. I easily shove the door back open and take off for the closest set of stairs, which happen to lead to a hall to the left of the main entrance. Daisuke and Mika are close behind me; at least that's what the sound of footsteps tells me, as we carefully, but quickly make our way down the steps.

The moment my foot hits the level ground of the first floor; I'm off running towards the closest corner. I easily slide around it, listening for the sound of my friend's footfalls. My mind is full of thoughts of escape, we just have to make it to that window, and we're free! There's no way the person that had set up the camera could get us.

I only make it about ten feet when one of the conference room doors slides open and someone tall steps into the hallway right in front of me. I've built up so much momentum, that I can't stop my body from propelling itself forward. In a matter of seconds, I crash into a well-toned chest and both of our bodies are falling towards the ground. My hands come up to grip at the man's shirt, and one of his arms wraps around my torso, easily pinning me against his chest.

Heat instantly fills my chest and face as his earthy scent quickly fills my senses. My mind is full of nothing but a haze for a few moments, I can't even struggle. I know I'm on top of a man and the sound of my friends running has come to a stop.

"What are you three doing here?" A deep, strangely familiar voice vibrates against my cheek and ear, leaving me staring wide-eyed at the wall. My stomach tenses as I recall the person the voice belongs to.

"That's none of your damn business! Now let her go!" I can hear Daisuke heatedly whisper, probably advancing as threateningly as he can. Though, I don't think it's going to have much of an effect on the man holding me in place.

"No." Is all he mutters. He easily stands up, keeping me trapped against his chest, not that I really feel like complaining at the moment. With his free hand he points to the room he's just emerged from. "Get in the room." His voice is cold and strangely menacing. So cold, that it sends a sliver of terror thrumming through my chest.

Knowing Daisuke and Mika, they won't leave without me, so I nod for them to do as he says. From the sound of his voice, he would probably make good on the implied threat in his tone. I can't really see them move, but I hear them let out frustrated sighs and move into the small room. The man follows close behind them, practically carrying me into the room, my legs dangling helplessly.

As soon as we're in the room, he carefully puts me down, taking hold of my upper arm to keep me from running away. With a glare that would make even the toughest of souls shudder, he basically orders my friends to stand in the corner, easily leading me to an area of the room where he has me pick up a chair while he somehow manages to lift two chairs and we carry them over to the corner where he seems to want to put us.

Pretty soon, the three of us are seated along the corner of bookshelves, almost like we are in line for a principal's office. I'm seated in the corner, right next to a shelf of books. As we get a chance to rest and get our bearings, I look over the room. It's pretty small and made smaller by the divider that separates a big table of monitors from a small table with a system for recording interviews and piles of books. There's even a white board with a map of the school.

Biting at the inside of my lip, I feel my eyes wander to the man who's been pushing all kinds of buttons today. He probably hasn't been doing it on purpose, but that doesn't matter. My gaze starts at his ankles and slowly wanders up. He's added the coat of his suit, making him look like a strange business man. Honestly, I hadn't expected to run into him again, even with his being acquainted with Mai.

Crossing my arms across my stomach, one of my legs crossing over the other, I glare at a spot on the floor. There's movement out of the corner of my eye, and the tall man is standing right in front of me. He's staring down at us, almost like a teacher would. I suppose he must have a lot of practice glaring at people. Maybe that kind face from earlier had been a fluke. He doesn't seem like an overly angry person, maybe there's just a lot of stress in his life. Whatever the case is, I glare up at him as he stares us down. I put all of the boredom I can muster into my features, as if that'll have any effect on what happens.

There's movement at the table of books and recording equipment, drawing my attention to the blurry-eyed girl. She'd been napping behind the piles of books, hidden from the world. I can feel my stomach drop to the floor as her eyes start to focus, any hint of the dream she'd been having falling away as she stares from my group of friends, to the tall man, then her chocolate eyes land on me, and I know for sure that I'm done for.

Her mouth slowly opens, probably to ask what I'm doing here, for the second time today. But before she can even get a word out, the door to the room slides open once again with a loud thud and a strange group of people walk in.

There's two women and three men. As soon as the group stops, they stop talking between themselves to look at Mai, then the male, then finally they let their gazes fall on my small group of friends.

The elder of the women is wearing a white haori and red hakama. The traditional clothes of a shrine maiden. Her long, dark red hair is tied back so that it stays out of her face as she casts spells or performs cleansings. There's a lovely shade of crimson on her lips that's just a shade lighter than her hair, drawing attention to her pale flesh. I blink for a moment, and then realize that she's too old to be a shrine maiden. Though, she's done an excellent job of looking like she's just come off of some sacred grounds.

Then there's the elder male of the group that looks like he's just walked off of some temple grounds as well. Granted, his hair is far too long and the piercing in his ear is definitely against the rules. He wears the traditional kashaya antaravasaka, a small beaded necklace hanging from one of his hands. His long hair is a nice honey brown, and the jewel in his ear is a beautiful forest green. His eyes are a dark brown that hold a deep and unbiased kindness. He looks pretty familiar, but I can't place where exactly I've seen him. He kind of reminds me of Uncle Ken.

The next oldest would be the pale blond teenager dressed in a cassock and stole. He seems awfully young to be an exorcist, but only someone ordained by the church would be allowed to wear the cloth. There's a perpetual smile on his face, making him seem kind and approachable. There's a rosary dangling from his neck and a bible held gently at his side. I'm sure there are plenty of girls who would love to confess their sins to him, or commit a few.

Then there's the girl that's around Mai's age. She's wearing a kimono and has the sleeve pressed over her mouth. Her dark hair comes just under her chin and her light grey eyes wander to the side as if she's deep in thought. She's fairly familiar as well, and the moment she moves the sleeve from her face, I realize why. She's all over television. She's a celebrity medium. I think her name is Hako Masara, or something like that. I've never really paid too much attention to the show she's on. Everyone talks about her a lot though.

Then there's the final male of the group. He's older than Mai, but he's younger than the blond boy. He's wearing all black and his face is even more familiar than the monk's is. I can't really place where I've seen him though. He's almost as pale as I am, which must mean he spends an unhealthy amount of time inside or up at all kinds of odd hours. His hair is black in the truest sense, with a slight blue shine to his hair. His eyes are a dark indigo hue. He's pretty thin, though it looks like the natural thin that Mika sports. His clothes fit pretty nicely, accentuating the curves of his waist and broad shoulders. Except, the moment he starts to talk, I instantly want to hit him.

"Lin, what's all the commotion about?" He demands of the man standing guard over me. His voice might be likeable if he didn't sound like a stuck-up jerk.

"These three got into the school somehow. They were in room 2-5." The man in question answers. He carefully looms over me as if he can keep my friends under control. Which, apparently works pretty well.

Well, at least I've learned the name of the man that I've suddenly found myself attracted to. I let my gaze wander back to the books next to me once again, carefully reading a few of the titles. As I had turned my gaze to the materials, I'd caught a glimpse of Mai opening her mouth to say something once again and I was hoping that she would be smart and not say anything.

"Momiji-senpai?" She asks, no fear or hesitation in her voice. She has no idea that she's probably just ended up sending me to jail. I glare at the books for a few more seconds before calming down and slowly turning my gaze to the two teenagers sitting next to me with twin looks of terror, probably not because we were in trouble, but because there was someone who recognized me.

"H…Hey Mai…" I quietly mumble, quickly returning my attentions to the books of various titles that happen to be right next to me. Maybe if I act like I don't care about what's happening around me, nothing bad will happen. Maybe I can avoid going to jail.

"Mai, did they finally move you back a few grades?" An annoying and smug voice quips.

"No," I answer for her, turning around once again to glare at the male dressed in all black. "I'm just a lot smarter than kids my age." I let the distaste for his attitude quickly fill my features. Mai doesn't even have a chance to get out a grunt or hiss out in retort.

"You owe Mai an apology." A deep voice states from in front of me. My insides completely freeze at his words. No matter how much I like his voice, he doesn't know what kind of can of worms he's opened. I slowly let my gaze wander towards the two people that I've known nearly my entire life.

After one look, I quickly turn my attention back to the books, fear filling my stomach at what could possibly happen. I'm slowly reading each and every title, my eyes impossibly wide as the feeling of two sets of eyes burning holes through my head registers in my mind. Then two voices start to yell in unison.

"What did you do?!" They say in a heated, almost hesitant rage.

"I didn't really do anything." I whisper, reaching up to gently run my index finger along one of the book spines. "You know what happens when I'm having a bad day." I continue quietly, hoping the two will see my side of it, even though I know they won't when they're this angry. They probably think I jumped on her and tried to scratch her eyes out, even with proof of the contrary right in front of them. After what feels like an hour, my shoulders sag and I grumble angrily at the man standing over me, "Thanks a lot."

Standing, I carefully try to maneuver around him, only to end up rubbing my shoulder against the warmth and the hardness of his stomach. My face instantly heats up and I glare up at him weakly. The ghost of a smile plays across his lips, making the blush on my cheeks deepen. I carefully make my way over to the table in the middle of the room and bow to the girl that is sitting there. "I'm sorry, Mai." I mumble, loud enough for the entire room to hear, just in case someone decides that I'm not really apologizing. "I shouldn't have snapped at you earlier. I understand that you were just concerned." I explain further.

"Oh! You don't have to apologize!" She replies, her cheeks instantly turning pink as one of her hands moves to the back of her head.

As soon as I'm standing up straight, that nagging feeling of someone watching me returns and sends a small, shiver down my spine.

"Girl, what's your name?" An arrogantly rude voice calls from behind me. I resist the urge to punch him by digging my fingertips in against my palm, then glance over to my childhood friends. Holding my tongue, I look to the two of them, silently asking them for help. Mika's frown deepens and Daisuke shakes his head, which tells me that they aren't going to help me. I slowly look around the room at each of the spiritualists and the feeling in the pit of my stomach grows and grows with each expectant look. If they're all as serious about their professions as they look, then they're going to know exactly who I am.

Sending one last, pleading glance to my friends for an idea, I realize it's better to just get it over with than to try and make something up on the spot.

My stomach lurches as I turn towards the man that's dressed in black, nearly all emotions falling from my face. With as bland a voice as I can manage, I say the name that is going to give me just the amount of grief that is going to be more than enough punishment for those two. "Yamatoku Momiji."

As soon as the name is out of my mouth, there are squeals and gasps from everyone in the room except from my friends, the man I'm assuming is named Lin, and the man in black. Mai, however just seems confused. There was one gasp that caught my attention, above all the others', the Monk's, whose cheeks were suddenly pink. I glare at my friends, as the two female spiritualists quickly rush over; their eyes sparkling as they quickly take hold of my hands.

"Do you have proof? Mai's useless brain doesn't count." The young man interjects, crossing his arms across his chest as if he doesn't believe anything I've said. For a moment, I imagined how bad it would be if I were to punch him in the face. The thought brought a cruel little smile to my lips, I carefully pulled out my wallet and handed him my student identification card, which he takes and examines as if it's a fake I.D.

After a few minutes, he hands the small card back, nodding. The boy gives me a quick once over, as if he still thinks I'm lying. That or he's checking me out. Personally, I would rather it be the former.

The two women once again grab my hands, holding them as if they think I'm some kind of illusion, and crowd in as close as they can. They say a few things that I've heard a million times and I fight the urge to smack them so hard they're ghosts feel it. I've heard these words before and it never gets easier, which is why I like my school. Nobody there has these reactions, not even Kuroda, the resident, 'psychic'. "I'm a big fan of your mothers! Your parents are so amazing."

My eyes roll and I easily rip my hands from theirs. They ramble quietly as I start back for the corner, my arms wrapping around my stomach. "Good for you. At least someone likes her." I grumble, knowing they all probably heard, but not caring. As I get closer to the tall male, I carefully move around him so that I don't have another embarrassing moment. He stands there, almost like a giant sculpture that could move at any second. I see the Monk following me, and for a moment I feel a rush of adrenaline, but it quickly disappears as he stops next to the tall man. They're both fairly tall, but the grey eyed man is taller. He smiles, though it doesn't quell the uncomfortable feeling going through my chest. "Since I've introduced myself, shouldn't you guys do the same?"

The first to introduce themselves is the girl in the kimono. She says her name is Hara Masako. I was pretty close, and I feel a little bit of pride playing through my chest. Then the too old Miko calls herself Matsuzaki Ayayko. I've never heard of her, but that doesn't mean she's not good at what she does. The catholic priest calls himself John Brown, and his accent almost sends my group of friends and I into a fit of giggles. He must have learned a southern dialect. The boy in black calls himself Shibuya Kazuya, which is obviously an alias, because as he says the name, there's a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. I already know Mai, so she keeps quiet, leaving the two tall men in front of me. The taller of the two looks down at me then simply calls himself Koujo Lin. I guess he's Chinese. He probably hates the Japanese. It must suck to be him living in Japan.

Once everyone is finished, the entire room stares expectantly at the monk, whom shakes his head as if he's waking up from a daze. He smiles, then holds his hand out to me, and says his name is Takigawa Houshou.

I absently take his hand and give it a shake, since it would be rude to refuse. It takes me a few seconds, but then the name registers. "Takigawa… Houshou…?" What is he doing here?! I can feel the blood drain from my face. I let my mind wander back to something my mother had said recently.

"Your father found you a new husband. He's from Mount Koya. Here's a picture." She had said, showing me a picture of the monk from a few years ago.

My cheeks quickly warmed and I easily pull my hand from the man's hand. It's not often you run in to your fiancée while breaking into a school in the middle of the night.

"Yeah. We've never actually met, but I'm glad to finally meet you." He smiles and I almost think I won't mind marrying him. Though, it'll have to wait quite a while.

"Same…" I mumble, looking back towards the books to hopefully hide my embarrassment.


	7. Chapter 7: It appears

"I don't get it, what's so special about Momiji-senpai?" Mai asks, oblivious to the anger that quickly bubbles up. I nearly smash my head against the edge of one of the shelves. I refuse to answer her. If she's going to be in this field, she should at least do some research.

"Minase and Chidori Yamatoku were two top class psychics. Chidori had ESP and Minase had PK. He's one of the few people in the world known to exhibit all three types of PK. He can move boulders the size of humans, stop wheels on a car or get it started, even get a person to do or see anything he wanted. There were several theories that Momiji, their daughter would possibly possess a great deal of abilities, maybe even some from both categories. But she never showed any signs of budding powes. The only psychic phenomenon reported in relation to her was when she played hide and seek with a man who was already dead. Not too long after that, there was a report that Minase and Chidori got a divorce because he was having an affair, then all of their powers seemed to disappear. " The boy in black explains, leaving me biting at my lower lip until it felt like it would burst open.

"I've always wondered what kind of woman Minase would have an affair with." Ayako wonders aloud. I angrily pull my legs up to my chest, pressing my chin against my knees. I glare at a pair of knees as I listen to her speculate.

"I don't know, so don't you bother asking." I mumble, pulling my legs in as tightly as I can. "Change of subject?"

"Alright. How about you tell us how you got in." The young man in black asks, an unnecessary amount of authority playing through his smooth voice. I give him a quick look and frown. I don't like how he acts like he knows something I don't.

I glare at him, slowly holding my arm out so that the two gashes in my arm show. "We literally broke in through a window down the hall. We like hunting ghosts. I heard the rumors about this school and wanted to come see if we could deal with what's going on here. We're actually almost done with the investigation." As I finish talking, the feeling that's been bugging me for the last several hours flares and I look behind me at the corner of bookshelves. I don't like that something's breathing down my neck.

"There are no spirits in this school." The celebrity medium whispers, moving her sleeve back to her mouth for dramatic effect. It's extremely unneeded, since most mediums look haunted.

"Everyone get back to what you were doing. Lin, gather up the fugitives. Mai, continue as you were." Kazuya barks, glaring at me with a suspicious frown. "You're going to show us where you three got in."

The man that towers over me easily takes hold of my upper arm, easily hauling me to my feet. I hiss at the sudden pain in my upper arm. There's a bruise right where his fingers are digging in. I make no move to get the hand off of me, which gives Mika and Daisuke the que to stand up. They glare at the man, but otherwise do as they are told.

As I'm dragged from the room, I look at the back of the man's head, my cheeks warming up once again. Soon, everyone is in the hallway and the tallest man in the group carefully pushes me ahead of the small group, almost like he knows that his grip is painful. Leading the group, we pass the main entrance and I look over my shoulder at the young man in black who has two angry teenagers on his trail. Without warning, I realize that, 'Kazuya' is someone I actually know pretty well. It probably took me a while to remember his name because when I met him, my life was coming apart.

"So, how's life been treating you, Oliver?" I grin, looking the boy in the eye just so I can watch his reaction. And it's definitely worth it. He stops for a moment, his eyes wide as he gasped for the right words. I'm certain nobody in that room knows his name, but the man holding my arm does. His grip tightens even more, and I have to resist the urge to yank my arm from his grasp.

"Took you a while," He chuckles, his face quickly growing blank, his arms crossing over his chest. He almost looks disappointed. "I was wondering when you would figure out that Kazuya wasn't my real name. It took you a bit."

"I knew that wasn't your name. That glint in your eyes gave you away. I'm blocking a lot of memories from when we were kids." I coolly answer, hiding the laughter I feel trying to bubble up my throat.

The young scientist quickly walks over, the tall man having stopped to watch our little exchange. Anger plays through his features, making it seem like he's going to come and do something rather drastic. For a minute, I'm fairly certain that he's going to hit me. As he comes within a foots distance, his hand lifts and my entire body flinches and my eyes close. I can feel my entire body shaking as I wait for him to make his move. Which doesn't take too long. The feel of an index finger and a thumb at my chin pulls my attention from the fear so that I'm looking at a pair of descending lips. There are a couple of gasps, and then the lips press against my cheek, though he's gotten the corner of my own lips. I can only imagine Daisuke, he must be about to kill the boy holding my chin. Mika must be doing her best to hold him back.

I kick his shin as he pulls away. It's just like when we were kids. I almost start to giggle as he lets out a small grunt of pain. As he pulled back he released a small laugh, blowing minty breath right into my face. "Nice to know some things never change."

"It's nice to know you still suck at aiming." I let out a quiet chuckle. "How do you always miss?" I chuckle, turning to lead the way once more. The atmosphere feels much lighter and I almost can't stop laughing at the sound of Mika trying to calm Daisuke down. They're both so protective, it's sweet. They must both be giving the back of Oliver's head the most evil of stares.

Quickly making out way down the hall, I keep my eyes peeled for the red scarf. I stop about fifteen feet down the hall, looking from one side to the other, confusion filling my mind. I tug my arm out of the Chinese man's grasp, a burning sensation where he had held onto my arm. I wince slightly, that's definitely going to leave a bruise.

Walking over to the window, I gently run my hand gently along the smooth, unbroken surface. There was no crunch of glass under foot. For a moment, the thought that this is the wrong window crosses my mind, but as I turn around and look at the door, I realize that the scarf is right there. I can hear the confused mutterings of my two friends as they also start to move to the small area, looking for the evidence that should be there, but isn't. I look down at my arm, and sure enough, there are a couple of gashes on my pale flesh.

I wander back to the two men who must be confused by how we're acting. Watching Daisuke and Mika wander the area, trying to figure out what's happening.

"What are you three doing?" Oliver asks, looking at the three of us as if we're a bunch of idiots.

"Momiji-hime, this _is_ the spot right?" Mika whispers, "Your scarf is here…" She begins.

"But, the floor… There's no glass." Daisuke finishes for her.

"Indeed. And that window definitely isn't broken." I add, my hand coming to rest over the cuts on my arm. "This is definitely where we came in. But, there's something wrong. It's like nothing happened." I can feel a pair of eyes on me. With all of the cases my little group's investigated, I had always wondered why there were never mentions of vandals in the papers. As I watch the two teens they move so Daisuke is staring at the scarf before he pulls it from the door jamb and Mika is looking at the window and bare floor.

I bite gently at my index finger, lost in thought when a warm presence walks up behind me. Whoever it is, they place a gentle hand on my shoulder. It's strangely reassuring.

As I watch the scene, something catches my attention. There's a pale figure down the hall, walking towards our small group. Once it fully registers, I jump and fall back against a warm body. I can feel my entire body start to shake as a very muscular, male wearing nothing but a fundoshi gets closer and closer. Whatever it is, it's too pale to be human. My face gets warmer and warmer, but my blood runs cold just at the sight of it. I press myself a bit closer against the man behind me.

A pair of muscular arms wrap around my torso, pulling me closer. It's almost like an automatic gesture. For a moment, I wonder how often the owner of the arms holds a woman, and then I start to wonder who exactly is holding me. My gaze falls to the arms and I feel my cheeks heat up even further. The arms are covered in white cloth, meaning the person holding me is Lin. I quickly lift my gaze to make sure that the thing isn't any closer, only to be greatly disappointed. Not only was it closer, it was only a foot away. The thing isn't human, nothing can move that fast. This thing must be an evil spirit, because of the way it holds itself, with so much anger and maliciousness. My hands move to grip at the arms wrapped around my shoulders, my heart beat racing as I try to press even closer, breath caught in my throat.

Now that the spirit is right in front of me, I can't help but notice details. If he was human, he'd be as tall as Lin, with muscles that are twice as big. His hair is short and black, and so spikey that it defies gravity. The smile on his lips is terrifying. A mixture of delight at my fear and misplaced hatred. I suppose such looks are fairly common among spirits. But, what strikes the most fear into the pit of my stomach, is how his eyes glow a blood red hue.

My chest quickly rises and falls as I stare the spirit in the eyes. I'm afraid to look away. When was the last time I was this afraid? Trembling in the arms of a man that I had just met a few hours ago, my breathing becomes more and more erratic, to the point where I'm hyperventilating. Then the thing in front of me carefully raises its hand and starts to reach for me. For a second, I'm amazed that no one else has noticed the thing in front of me except for the man holding me. The arms around me tighten just a tad as the pale, dead hand gets closer and closer. After a second, the hand starts to lower and it's heading for my chest, a new kind of fear playing in my stomach. Maybe it'll crush my heart, but it doesn't look like it's heading for anything vital. My grip on the cloth tightens as I realize that it's going to grope me. Turning my head to the side, my eyes close as tightly as possible.

Then some of the pressure around me disappears and the evil presence seems to disappear.


	8. Chapter 8: The Onmyoji's Protection

My eyes cautiously open to see that the spirit is indeed gone. My breathing quickly calm down, but my body won't stop shaking. The only thing keeping me from falling is my grip on the man's arm. The man in question leans down and whispers that everything is going to be alright. The feel of his warm breath playing over the skin of my ear sends a different kind of feeling throughout my bed and my knees become even more useless and I fall completely to the floor, shivering. The only thing keeping me from falling on my face is my shaking elbows. My cheeks burn and I can't help but feel embarrassed. I hope nobody figures out what's really sent me to the floor.

"What's wrong?" Oliver calls from a few feet away. Either he wasn't paying attention or he's dense, which I know for a fact he usually isn't. The temptation to berate him for not trying to help is strong, but the ability to get any breath to do so just isn't there.

"She was just attacked by a spirit." The man that's saved me reports, as if it was just an everyday occurrence. I feel my gaze slowly move to the two men behind me, curious as to what they'll decide. They'll probably just give me a charm and send me on my merry way to jail. For a moment, I remember those dead, blood red eyes. It wants me to suffer before it kills me.

"Is that so?" The boy says, looking down at my shaking form, pity running through his gaze for a millisecond. "Then you're going to stay the night with us. You should call your mother to tell her where you'll be." He decides on his own. My stomach drops to the floor for the second time tonight, and I can feel myself getting ready to protest. Until an image of those eyes pops into my mind. My mother wouldn't be able to send it away as easily as Lin had, if at all. She would probably just make it angry and it would strike back at her.

Before I can agree or disagree, Daisuke raises his voice, giving the two men one of his best glares. "No way! That's beyond inappropriate."

Then Oliver turns his gaze, colder than normal and full of anger, on the younger male. "Are you capable of banishing a spirit? Would you spend the night with her to make sure that the spirit that just attacked her, right in front of you, might I add, didn't try to finish what it's started?" His tone is rude, and the air around us has gone down a few degrees, but he's never been one for niceties.

"I… Well… But…" Daisuke stammers, his cheeks instantly turning red. "Fine. But, if either one of you makes a move on her, I'll kill you!" He finally manages to say, glaring with all the anger he could muster. I'm not going to lie, it's probably the most frightening I've ever seen him.

"I'll help him. You better keep our little princess safe." Mika adds, her own eyes filling with darkness as she looked at the two. Daisuke was scary, but the look in the girl's eyes said she would deliver on her threat.

Smiling, I somehow force myself to my feet, moving to hug the two of them as tightly as I possibly can. "I love the two of you, which is why I want you to go home and stay safe." Then, I quietly whisper to them, "Whoever the hexer is, they don't know you. So, try to stay away from this school until I tell you it is safe."

The two of them nod, glaring over my shoulders one last time before opening the window that's supposed to be in pieces and crawling out. As they make their way towards the gate, I can see them looking back, fighting not to come running back and take me with them.

"Momiji, since you're going to be with us for a while, refrain from calling me Oliver. Right now, the only ones that know my identity are yourself, Lin, and Ms. Hara." Oliver says in a stern tone. He stares me down until I nod in agreement. "Now, I'm going to go check on Mai. She's probably freaking out in that room all by herself." He turns, but not before I see the smirk playing on his lips. I give him one last look before closing the window tightly.

Lin is still standing there, watching me. I peak at him, using the window as a sort of mirror since it is so dark out. I place my hand over my heart, and take a few deep breaths to calm down. Being afraid isn't going to be helpful, I'll need to be as calm as possible if I want to find the hitogata with my name on it.

Once I feel calm enough, I turn towards the tall man and nod. My legs are still wobbling, but I can walk. As we start to walk back towards the small conference room they're using as their base, I can feel my body start to fall forwards. My hands instantly move to protect my face and my eyes close, but the impact of hitting the floor never comes, but a strong pressure around my waist does. When I open my eyes, I almost punch myself. The mountain of a man has caught me and saved me from falling flat on my face.

As Mr. Lin helps me stand up straight once more, one of his arms carefully hover behind me, as if he knows I'll probably fall once again. "So, you're an Onmyoji?" I ask, looking up at him curiously, slowly moving down the hall way. Slowly but surely. He nods, looking at me for the merest of moments before looking straight ahead. He must not talk very often, that or he knows what his voice does to me. Hopefully he doesn't.

"Any ideas on how to keep that thing away?" I question, staring intently at the ground to make sure it doesn't start coming up to meet my face. I think about it myself for a moment, it won't be easy. Contracted spirits usually spend all of their time working to fulfill the request, and as time goes on, it gets stronger and stronger. I would probably be in danger just going to the bathroom by myself.

We are halfway to the small room, which I will say is quite the accomplishment with the way my legs feel wet noodles. I suppose the amount of adrenaline pumped into my body from the terror and the rush of endorphins from the man's voice was just too much for my body to take. Though, perhaps the day has just been too eventful for me. I'm so lost in my own thoughts that I don't even notice that the tall man has leaned over, right next to my ear, until he says something.

"Of course, we're going to have to sleep in the same room, maybe even in the same bed. That way, it won't be able to get close enough." His voice is lower and more breathy. It's almost too sensual for me to take, and I almost fall to the floor once again. I really want to go home and curl up in a ball in my bed, crying myself to sleep. Which is something I haven't wanted to do since I was a little kid.

Instead, I straighten my back and walk a little bit faster, hoping that it won't be obvious what's turned my face five shades of scarlet. "Please don't do that." I mumble loud enough for him to hear. He chuckles as he easily keeps up with me.

Then a scream echoes from down the hallway. Once the voice registers, my body quickly jumps into action. Mai and I may not be the best of friends, but she's still my underclassmen, someone that I have to watch over. My knees have suddenly recovered and I'm running down the hall as fast as I can, which has been pretty fast today. There are heavy foot falls behind me, which I would normally freak out about, but it's probably just Lin, following me to investigate the sound.

I slide to a stop just behind the man I'm supposed to marry, who is just inside the doorway of the room of monitors. A frantic Mai is yelling, staring at Oliver's back. The young man in question is looking through papers while facing the window. Then what the girl is frantically trying to explain finally starts to register in my mind.

"Those eyes… Those evil, blood thirsty eyes! She was looking for Naru!"

It takes me a moment, but I stare at the girl curiously. She had said, 'Naru'. That's eerily close to the pronunciation of Noll, Oliver's nickname. From Oliver's own mouth, nobody in this small group should know that name, especially not Mai. I bet she's got a bit of ESP in her that she doesn't know about. I look from her to the boy at the window. Then the presence of the silent giant comes up behind me.

"What do you mean by, "That Woman," Mai?" I ask, moving to her side, kneeling and resting a hand on her gently shaking shoulder.

"There was a female spirit here just a minute ago." Says a male voice from behind me.

A spirit. I suppose Oliver gave his alias to the hexer. For a second I think about when I was talking to Kasai. There's no way she could be the one making all the hexes, but I only gave my name to two people. I'd bet anything that Oliver had also given his name to that woman. What a fine mess we've put ourselves in. We had better start looking soon if we want to keep our lives.

For the rest of the night, not much else happens. Everyone capable of performing exorcisms went around the school, cleansing spirits that aren't there. They're looking all around, but for what, I'm not sure, since they're looking in the wrong kinds of places for hitogata. I end up sitting in the corner reading some of the books as they work.

When they finally wrap up for the night, I end up sitting in the back seat of a van Mai to my left with Naru, whose new nickname I know I'm going to enjoy using to annoy the crap out of him, in front of her and Lin driving. Pressing my forehead against the window, my eye lids quickly become heavy, and with the sound of Oliver and Mai bickering, I quickly become extremely tired. The day has been long and stressful. As I watch the road zip by, the movements of the car quickly lull me to sleep. It's almost like my energy is being stolen, and I can't stay awake too much longer.

The last thing I hear is Mai saying thank you and goodnight, then a car door slamming shut. Then everything goes dark.


	9. Chapter 9: The Darkness

**Authors note! This chapter is a bit more mature. Reader's discretion is advised!**

 **On a side note, I hope you guys are liking the story! Anyways, enjoy!**

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My head turns from side to side, and I try to take in my surroundings. I know I'm in a car, but it doesn't look or feel like I am. In fact, my surroundings are almost completely blank. Black and empty. This place almost looks like the place I go when I'm visiting Uncle Ken, but it's much colder and much scarier. Looking closer, there's strange movement in the darkness. As I look closer and closer, I feel something in my stomach fall. It's not a solid mass, but it's also solid. There's bodies pressing together and crawling over one another.

One of my hands comes up to press against my mouth, trying to keep the scream in my throat from bubbling out. But, as my hand comes up, I catch a glimpse of something crimson. My gaze wanders to my hands, leaving me in slight awe. There's no reason I should be able to, but I can see my hands. It's almost like I'm giving off light. Then my eyes focus on the red bit of cloth on my arm. My gaze wanders to take it all in and I almost gasp at the beauty of the clothes I'm wearing.

It's a beautiful crimson kimono, with a branch stretching across my body and most likely around to my back. There are pink flowers and blossoms dotting the branch and petals falling to the hem at my feet. I looked closer and the detail on the flowers is incredible, you can see each vein in the petals, if the flowers would stay still long enough for you to see them. Wait, what? I look closer and the blossoms are literally falling to my feet in a breeze that couldn't possibly be there.

I shiver for a moment before something catches my attention. There's a strong feeling of evil, unforgiving maliciousness behind me, staring holes into my back. My heart stopped for a moment, and I realized that, underneath the hatred and anger is another, strangely strong emotion. My breathing quickly picked up, getting faster.

Turning my head, I look behind me, fear instantly filling every fiber of my being. Right behind me is the muscular spirit from only a few hours ago, and the bubbles of fear in my chest instantly burst, telling me to run for my life.

The first few steps I take are clumsy, and my body stumbles. My arms reach for something, a hand to pull me to safety or something to keep myself from falling down. As I'm running, I see no savior. I quickly pull the hem of the kimono up so that I can run faster. My bare feet land on what feels like a wooden floor and for some strange reason it feels like I get an energy boost. It feels like I've been running forever, but at the same time, it's like I'm not getting anywhere. With no way to tell where I am, or how fast I'm running, it's like I'm running into oblivion.

Glancing over my shoulder to gauge how much distance I've gotten between myself and the spirit. He takes slow, deliberate steps, as if he knows something that I don't. Each step he takes holds an extraordinary amount of confidence.

Foolishly, I let confidence quickly fill my chest and start running even faster, believing that I just might escape him. Until I smash, face first into a wall. A warm wall that feels like a very muscular man's chest. My hands push against the wall, hoping that I can use it to push myself into running once again. But, something deep inside my chest tells me there's no way I'll be able to move fast enough.

As I start to pull away from the strangely warm wall, a pair of hands grab hold of my upper arms and pull me tightly against the warm wall, that I now realize isn't a wall but a person. A shiver runs up my spine as more hands start to take hold of me. There's a pair of hands at my waist, pulling my hips away from the wall, and another pair of hands at my ankles, pulling them so that they're more than a shoulder width apart.

Something starts to bubble up my chest only to be released as screams. I haven't done anything wrong, so why is this happening to me. I beg for mercy, pleading to be released by the invisible hands. My mouth moves, but the words coming from it are unintelligible. I scream and scream until my throat is raw and I almost can't speak.

"Please, stop!" I beg, "I'm sorry! Please…" I sob; voice trailing off as pain quickly fills my throat. Nothing works, and I know that soon, I'll be hurt by the spirit that is hunting me down.

"Be quiet, stupid girl." A cruel voice calls from behind me. "No one cares about you. No one will save you." It growls, moving closer and closer. I thrash my body around as much as I can, trying to escape the hold the hands have, only for each of them to tighten their hold. Tears stream down my face as I become nearly immobile. Soon, the spirit is hovering over me, leaning in to whisper into my ear. "And once I've finished with you, nobody will want you."

I had known it would torture me, spirits have a strangely strong hatred for the living, but this seems beyond cruel.

Turning away from the whispers, more tears work their way down my face. My entire body is trembling, and I'm surprised my knees have managed to hold my body up for as long as they have. My stomach is twisted into knots. I want to scream, but I know that it will probably do no good. My knees give out, but my body is still standing. The hands must be keeping me in place.

"Please… Help me…!" I scream one more time, a last ditch effort with no real hope of being rescued. Something quickly registers in the back of my mind, and my heart leaps for a strange joy. There's a light and gentle pressure around my shoulders and the back of my knees. It's too gentle to be related to the spirit behind me, too warm and delicate, as if afraid of touching me.

"No one can hear you." The spirit growls, sounding further away. For a moment I want to look back to see what's happening, but at the same time, I don't want to see what it's about to do.

A feather-like pressure suddenly presses against my ankles, not holding, but not allowing me to escape. It's like feathers are being run along my skin, up my legs and further. Cold air moves along my flesh, and I feel another scream bubble up my throat. I look back, afraid of what I'll find, and feel my heart instantly drop to the floor. The kimono is pooled around my waist, leaving my lower half exposed. I push against the wall, trying to wriggle my lower half in such a way that the kimono will fall back into place, but of course, I've got no luck there.

As I'm struggling to save my decency, my knees pressing together as if it'll help with anything, a loud snap sounds and there's suddenly a stinging pain on my bottom. I freeze, trying to feel for that warmth that had been against my shoulders. "Adorable," the voice behind me whispers to itself. A pair of hands rest on the bare flesh of my bottom and I almost scream out again.

With little hope, I start to sob almost uncontrollably against the wall, moving my hands to cover my face. Weeping into my hands, I know I won't be able to fully get away, but I try to pull out of the grasps anyways, only to be forced back into position. A pair of lips press against the exposed flesh of my bottom, and I have to fight the urge to sob.

Whimpering and trembling, I try to make another feeble call for help, but my throat's finally given out, so it comes out as a scratchy sigh. I look into the darkness, hoping to see something, anything, but I'm met with nothing. I do my best to ignore the thing behind me, until those lips move to my most private and sensitive of areas. I let out a scratchy scream, once again fighting the hands that are holding me in place.

Then something wet presses against me, and I scream even more, begging for the monster behind me to show me mercy and stop. But nothing seems to work.

The warmth around my shoulders and knees disappears, and I can feel something inside of me shatter for a moment. The tears quickly stop and I try to tell myself that it's going to end quickly, even though I know the spirit will take as much time as possible. In seconds it feels like I'm lying on something smooth and soft. It's a bed. And there's something warm pressing against my sides and there are gentle hands on either side of my face. Something rough softly moves along the skin just underneath my eyes, as if someone's wiping away the tears that I've been unable to stop crying.

"Wonderful. I'm going to enjoy this much more than I anticipated." The voice of the dead man calls, moving to hover over me once more. "Wait a moment…!" It yells.

Then a pair of soft, warm lips press against mine, sending warmth throughout my body, pulling my attention from the cold. It becomes almost too difficult to pay much attention to it, until something grabs hold of my breast.

"You're not going anywhere!" That cold voice shouts, wrapping its arms around my body.

The pressure at my lips becomes a bit rougher, slightly turned as if it's trying to get closer. I focus on that soft, warmth and any cold hands holding onto me disappear. Shouts echo around me, as if the creature is trying to pull me back in, but I'm no longer afraid. I'm safe, saved from the spirit, even if temporarily, and safe from what it wanted to do.


	10. Chapter 10: Oh Kami! Do I like him!

The feeling at my lips is so soft and gentle that I don't want it to ever stop, my heart racing a little faster. I gently return the pressure against my lips, slowly moving my arms to wrap around the neck of whoever is above me. The pressure at my lips pulls back for a moment, then it presses closer and deepening the kiss. A pair of arms moves around my waist, pulling me in against a nicely toned chest. There's movement above me, and the legs that were against my side move and there's something solid and heavy pressing me in against the bed. A set of foreign teeth press against my lower lip, before those soft lips pull back, kissing down to my jawline. I turn my head to the side, letting out a quiet moan as the person's mouth moves up along my jaw to the lobe of my ear, then nibbles up along the edge of my ear, sending a shiver along my spine. One large hand rests at the small of my back, pushing my lower half up against the masculine body while another rests on the side of my head, long fingers sliding under my hat to play within my hair, while also trapping my other ear and sending an amazing amount of warmth throughout my skin.

The person above me freezes at the sound coming from my throat, and for a moment, I fight the urge to beg for them to keep going. But, then the dream floats through my mind and I wonder if, perhaps the spirit has found a way to trick me into wanting what its' form of torture. That sends my mind whirling and my eyes shoot open. I turn as the person on top of me slowly pulls back, his hands moving to either side of my body to hold themselves up.

My body shivers as a pair of mismatched eyes stare down at me. One's a beautiful shade of blue, while the other is a lovely, familiar shade of grey. Without much thought, I feel my body quickly bolt from underneath the man, spinning to watch him intently as my back presses against the large window, set into the wall. My heart is pounding so loudly, I'm surprised he can't hear it.

"Are you all right? That thing was attacking you in your sleep. I thought a soft distraction would be the best way to wake you. I apologize if you didn't like it." He explains voice breathy as a smirk slowly crosses his lips. I almost fall to the floor, knowing that he had enjoyed it very much. And, if I'm being honest, I liked it as well.

"I'm… Fine. Thank you…" I whisper, gaze falling to the floor. "That was… My first…" I can feel my cheeks darkening as I try to explain to myself more than him, why I should be angry. I'm not as angry as I should be that he had taken my first kiss, probably because I liked it a lot.

"I see." He mumbles, his features becoming more serious. I stare at him curiously as he looks at the white of his bed sheets, something in the pit of my stomach flips at the sensory memory of his body heat wrapped around me.

Frowning I carefully make my way back to the edge of the bed, carefully perching just in case I want to flee once again. Glancing at him every now and then, I can see him shift into a more comfortable position, a thoughtful expression on his face. We sit there for almost half an hour, lost in our own thoughts.

'I wonder if he actually liked that kiss…' I think to myself, carefully turning my gaze back to him, only to be met with a glare. "Is something wrong?"

"Not really." Is all he says in reply.

"You hate the Japanese, don't you?" I ask blatantly, looking away from him towards the floor.

"After the things they've done to my country, I'm not Japan's biggest fan." He answers. I feel him staring at me, but I don't think my heart is strong enough to see the coldness in his eyes.

Sighing, something in my chest tightens in a strangely painful way and anger easily bubbles up my chest. "That's… Stupid. You can hate this country all you want, but don't you dare use that as an excuse to hate me. If you're going to hate someone, hate them because of things like their personality and behavior. Not their nationality. It's just good manners. It'll probably also save you a bunch of hell later on." I grumble, carefully moving my arms around my waist.

For a moment everything is quiet, then he starts to chuckle. "You know, that's almost exactly what Oliver and Eugene said." Once the tension is pretty much broken, I feel a smile quickly spread across my face.

"Speaking of, where is Gene?" I quickly inquire, curious on the whereabouts of the more gentle of the twins. Noll is nice and all, but he doesn't really know how to express it.

"That's kind of why we are here. We're looking for him." He answers, leaving me staring at him dumbfounded.

"But that means Oliver can't really use his PK, right? Every time he does, it'll be like he's running himself over!" I can feel myself moving, crawling across the bed as if I'm trying to get the truth, like he's playing a trick on me.

"They told you about that? He can use some of his abilities without worry, like his psychometry. His PK, however, let's just say I've forbidden him from using it. And as for Eugene's whereabouts, we just know that he's here in Japan. Or, at least his body is." He answers. As his statement sinks in, I can feel my entire body going cold.

I would never tell anyone, but I actually had a little bit of a crush on Gene when we were kids. He was nice and talking with him was so easy. Noll might look like him, but there's just something I can't stand about him. I let my mind wander for a moment, considering Oliver's abilities. Without Gene, to get the same results with his PK, he would have to expend a tremendous amount of energy, and he would probably end up in the hospital every time he did.

"Lin?" I whisper, shaking myself from my thoughts while sitting down on my calves, continuing only once he's lowered his gaze to meet mine. "Where am I sleeping?"

He looks at me calmly for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh of resignation. "I had planned on letting you sleep in my bed while I go sleep on the couch, but… This thing can get into your dreams. If I'm not close enough, I can't properly keep you safe." He muses, one of his hands moving to press against his chin in a small fist while his other moves to grasp at his elbow. "I suppose, we'll just have to share the bed. I'll be sure to stay as far away as possible."

I can feel my eyes widen at his suggestion, though I know it's probably the smartest thing for us to do, considering what this thing has been capable of. For a moment, my gaze lands on his lips and I can feel my cheeks start to warm up, remembering the feel of those lips against my own. The man in front of me slowly unbuttons his vest, tossing it to the side of the bed furthest from the wall and the window. Then he pulls off his tie and starts to unbutton his shirt. I don't notice until he's already halfway down, but once I do, I quickly turn away, heat rushing to my face as I get an amazing view of his sculpted chest.

"I'll let you borrow something so your clothes don't get dirty." The male states calmly, as if the situation is normal.

"If… If it's alright, I'll borrow the shirt you just took off." I quickly call a strange fluttering going through my chest.

"Alright." He answers as he sets it down on the bed next to me. "I'll finish changing in the bathroom. I'll be back in about ten minutes." He finishes, moving to a set of drawers in the corner to pull out a small pile of clothes before leaving the room.

As soon as the door closes behind him, I pick the shirt up and give it a small sniff, curious on whether or not it's been drenched in sweat. It hasn't. It smells like his cologne, mixed with the scent of his body. It's an earthy, expensive smell that I can imagine myself trying to roll around myself.

I quickly pull off my sweat pants, t-shirt and bra, pulling the white cloth on and buttoning it so that I won't be completely exposed when he walks back in. Then, I pull my hat, gloves and socks off. For a moment, I wonder where my shoes are, chuckling at the thought of either of the tall, dark and brooding pair taking the time to pull my shoes off. I bite my lower lip, carefully folding everything so that they won't wrinkle. After what feels like a few minutes, I pull my hair down and braid it, absently staring at the wall.

The sound of the door opening catches my attention, so I look at the mirror-like window to watch the tall onmyoji walk in. He's naked from the waist up, with a pair of shiny pants following the contours of his lower half. Heat quickly moves throughout my body at the thought of sleeping in the same bed as a man, especially one who's such a good kisser.

I slowly move under the covers, curling up as close to the edge as I can get without falling off the bed. Through the mirror-window, I watch the tall, Chinese man move the covers so he's under them as well. The mattress moves and I suddenly feel the front of a body pressing against the length of my back. My breath catches for a moment and everything in my body tenses. My stomach tightens and something deeper starts to heat up, nearly leaving me gasping. It gets even worse as a strong arm wraps around my waist. The hand rests against the cloth over my stomach before slowly moving up along my stomach, stopping just under my breast on my ribs. Movement behind me and a pair of lips press against the nape of my neck, forcing a quiet moan from my throat.

"L…Lin?" I barely manage to whimper, my entire body shaking in his grasp.

The man behind me doesn't answer, his lips pressing against my skin a bit more roughly, teeth lightly grazing my flesh.

Then, the door opens again, and from the window-mirror, I see a tall figure wander into the room, chest bare, legs covered in a dark satiny material. My breathing stops completely and my blood instantly runs cold. The hand on my rib cage moves up and takes hold of my chest while the teeth at my neck begin to dig in. A whimper escapes my throat as I stare at the man's reflection pleadingly. I can barely stutter out his name.

"Yes, Yamatoku-san?" He mumbles in an aggravated tone. I watch him turn towards the bed as the thing holds me in place, suckling at my neck as if it's the best thing it's ever done in its afterlife.

"Hel…p…" I barely manage to whisper, my entire body shaking. The pit of my stomach starts to heat up, leaving me clutching at the covers around me in both terror and excitement.

Before my eyes close, I see him turning towards the sound of my voice. My breathing quickens, leaving me panting as I try to pull away from the creature. A tsk sounds from across the bed and then a warm wind passes over me, chasing away the feel of the hand and teeth. Shivering, I could hear the man mumbling as he started climbing into the rather large bed. "Damn spirit... Can't believe it waited until I wasn't here."

Pretty soon, a warm arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me away from the edge of the bed and closer to the middle. My cheeks instantly heat up as I look at the arm, then up at the man it belongs to. His gaze is full of boredom, as if the position we're in doesn't faze him. For the shortest second, his eyes soften and he lies down, pulling me closer against him. To get comfortable, I wriggle around so that I'm facing him, cheek pressing against his chest. I blush as I look up at him, my heart flip-flopping in my chest once again. As I rest my head back against his chest, the thought crosses my mind that I might like him, and that's the thought that races through my mind as I fall asleep listening to the rhythmic beating of his heart.


	11. Chapter 11: Another dream?

My eyes slowly open and I almost growl in anger at being surrounded by darkness again. At least, until I look around and notice that it's not entirely the same as before. It's dark, but there's some light here and there. Floating lights that look like spirit orbs.

"Momiji…" A deep voice calls from behind me. I turn to see a young man, sixteen in age, with honey colored hair and gentle eyes watching me cautiously. I smile, easily running to the young man, wrapping my arms around him as tightly as I could, memories bubbling through the back of my mind.

"Uncle Ken! I had a feeling you were going to make an appearance!" I chuckle to myself, nuzzling closer, holding tightly onto the sleeves of his faded yellow sweater with green stripes. One of his hands moves to gently stroke the top of my head as small tears work their way down my cheeks.

"Of course I was going to make an appearance. You're in an insane amount of danger." He chuckles to himself, slowly placing his hands on my shoulders to move me an arm's length away. "Listen, Momiji, I'm going to be moving on soon, so I won't be able to keep helping you. I've been here too long." He smiles, knowing that it's probably going to be the only thing keeping me from screaming my head off.

"But, aren't you my spirit guide? I thought you were going to stay with me until I joined you here for good. I mean, let's face it, I live a pretty high risk lifestyle." I giggle, looking around at the strangely full space of emptiness.

"That's not very funny…" He sighs, squeezing my shoulders. "I haven't been doing a great job as a spirit guide. I'm just not a good enough spiritualist to properly train you. The best I've done is help you astral project, open windows while you think you're breaking them, and break into a bunch of old buildings." His grip on my shoulders becomes nearly unbearable.

"Now, that's not entirely true." Another voice calls from behind me. It's one I've heard recently, but it sounds much kinder. "Her hyper-awareness is on par with my own. Her powers are just starting to bud, that's all." The voice smoothly chuckles. I turn around to find a pale young man dressed in all black, with black hair framing his face where gentle, blue gray eyes watch me.

"Eugene?" I can't keep the shock off of my face as he comes over and gently rests a hand on top of my head. "So, it's true? You died?"

"Yeah. It's true. I'm glad you could tell it was me." He chuckles, ruffling my hair gently.

"Why wouldn't I? You and Oliver are so different that it's kind of painful." I easily state, pushing his hand off of my head.

"True. The idiot scientist has never been very tactful."

"I'm glad you two get along. Momiji, this young man is going to be taking over as your spirit guide. I'm sure you're going to learn much more than what I've been able to teach you." Uncle Ken interjects, pulling me into a gentle hug. "And, hopefully Houshou will make a good husband."

"Considering how close she's gotten to Lin in the last twenty-four hours, I don't think that marriage is going to happen." Gene chuckles coldly, to which I give his arm a pretty good smack. Not that he would really feel it, considering.

"A passing fancy, much like you were." Uncle ken chuckles before kissing my forehead and disappearing in a bright flash of light.

My entire face has gone dark pink, my stomach falling as I realize that he's let it slip that I'd had a crush on the dead boy next to me.

"Huh. Passing fancy?" The boy in question purrs, wrapping his arms around my waist to pull me in against him. "If I remember correctly, while you were going through those tests in the lab in England, you promised to marry me if I ever asked." His chin digs in against my shoulder, sending a shiver down along my spine.

"But you never asked." I sigh, gently trying to shake the young man off, which seemed to make his grip tighten.

"Will you marry me, now?" He chuckles, kissing his way up my neck to nibble at the outer rim of my ear.

"I don't know…" I whimper, pushing at the arms around my waist. "This isn't a trick by the spirit that's trying to kill me is it?"

"It's not." He whispers, his abnormally warm breath playing across my cheek as he moves in front of me and kisses my forehead in nearly the same spot that Uncle Ken had. "But, my being dead is a bit of an issue. That, and the fact that you've fallen in love with another man."

"I…I don't think it is love. I'm just being fickle, that's all. I'll probably go along with my parents' wishes to marry that monk." I sigh, lifting a hand to my mouth to chew at one of my fingers.

"I guess we'll see. But for now, you need to wake up. And be careful." He chuckles, gently running his hand against my cheek. "Oh, and I'll just remove this little blockage." He whispers, flicking the middle of my forehead and throat.

Everything starts to get fuzzy and soon, my mind goes empty and I'm no longer surrounded by the darkness, but dreaming peacefully.


	12. Chapter 12: What Am I Seeing?

Light falls across my eyes, blinding me through pale lids. Groaning, I snuggle back against something hard to escape the bright rays. The closer I get to the solid mass behind me, the tighter the thing around my waist gets. Sighing happily, I turn my head against the soft pillow, nuzzling my face in against the soft material. The person behind me shifts, a wide appendage moving further up against my thigh while what feels like a face presses against the back of my head.

My mind slowly starts to drift back to sleep, the world becoming fuzzy except for the feeling of warmth and pressure. Just as the world is about to be lost to dreams once again, something twitches against my bottom. My eyes shoot open and my body somehow detangles itself from the limbs that are wrapped around me and propels from the bed to press against the window. Gasping for breath, I stare at the male form slowly drifting into consciousness.

His features are doused in sleep, which is way too cute for my comfort. The covers had jostled out of place when I jumped from the bed, leaving his chest naked to the world. My heart starts pounding and I let my gaze wander to the mirror I hadn't seen the night before. A pale girl in a white button up that falls to the middle of her thighs, stares back. Her hair is mussed from sleep and the top three buttons of the shirt have come undone and one of her shoulders has been bared to the world. There are bruises on either side of her neck.

Movement pulls my attention away from my reflection as the man in the bed sits up, staring directly at me with curiosity, his eyes still fighting against sleep. Though, in seconds, his eyes cloud with heat as he takes in my disheveled appearance.

Something in my face must show, because he looks away and gets out of the bed, moving around the room to gather clothes. "I'll give you about twenty minutes to get ready." He instructs, making a pointed effort to not look towards, or face, me. It's almost like he's hiding something, but I do my best to ignore him, embarrassment thrumming through my chest.

The sound of the door opening and closing reaches my ears and I turn my attention to the empty room. Relief completely fills me and I move over to the bed and slowly pull the covers back into place before pulling the white shirt off over my head. Folding the shirt, I place it on the large mattress. I lean down to pick my clothes up off the floor.

As I was working on pulling my brassiere on, the door burst open and the tall, half-naked onmyoji rushes through the door, freezing in his tracks as his eyes land on me. My eyes get wider and wider until a small scream starts to bubble into my throat. His mouth starts to open and I fall to the ground, hiding behind the bed, arms wrapped tightly around my chest.

"I…I uh… Forgot something…" He mumbles, quickly moving through the room before retreating. Shaking slightly, I quickly get dressed and curl up against the side of the bed. I press my eyes against my knees to keep from crying out, nails digging into the skin of my forearms.

No man will ever want to marry me now. Not after everything that's happened in the last twenty-four hours. Not the dead boy in my dreams and definitely not the monk my parents have picked out for me.

I slowly fall to the ground, pressing the back of my gloved hands against my eyes to stop the flow of tears that tried to fall. As I lay there, cold air ran along my body and before I could scream, all of the air is knocked out of me as a strong pressure starts to push down on my ribs. My arms are pulled over my head and my legs are jerked wide open. There are hands wandering all over my body, groping and stealing the rest of my breath.

As I writhe on the floor, moving my body away from the hands as much as I can, the door opens and the tall man walks in once more. He's dressed this time in a black suit with a golden tie. An invisible hand sneaks between my legs bringing a loud squeak from my throat, which catches his attention. The onmyoji rushes over, pulling me in against his chest once again, whispering a few words and sending some invisible force after the spirit that had just been there.

A shiver runs down my spine as I pull myself closer to his chest, gripping tightly at his jacket to fight the tears pricking at the back of my eyes. A large hand rests on top of my head, comforting me.

"It's alright, Yamatoku-san." A deep voice whispers calmly, slowly running his hand along my head. "We're going take care of it."

"I want… to go home and change…" I whimper into his chest, gently pressing my fingertips against his chest.

"Then let's go." He whispers, carefully pulling me to my feet and guiding me from the room.

Leaving the room, I look around, staring at the plainness of it all. The walls are a light mocha, there's off white carpeting, black furniture laced about the room with random potted plants around the room. Everything is put in places that only someone with a great understanding of Feng shui would think of. Oliver picked the colors, but Lin must be the one who decorated.

Speaking of Oliver, I find him sitting on the couch, nearly blending in except for his pale skin. His clothes are all black; black button up, black trousers that fit tightly at his thighs, a black jacket stops at his waist and right at his wrists. I study his face for a moment. His eyes are red and slightly puffy. He probably didn't sleep last night. Only someone who's seen that look would be able to notice it.

The three of us leave the building and I have to fight to not burst into tears as we all pile into the van from the night before.

I stare absently at the seat in front of me, gripping tightly at the material of my baggy pants. I feel my stomach clench, my eyes slowly turning to stare out the window. For a few minutes, I watch the passing scenery. The world outside is so bright, and yet, I can't bring myself to muster up even a fake smile.

"'A woman was brutally stabbed to death on a late train last night.'" A smooth, slightly arrogant voice mumbles from the front seat.

"What?" I turn towards him, leaning forward to look at the group of papers in his hands. My stomach clenches even tighter and it feels like it falls into my ankles. The woman in the picture has short, dark brown hair and a sweet smile. The picture is in black and white, but I instantly know that the clothes she's wearing are light pink. I remember a pair of cold eyes staring at me with a sickening hunger.

"This woman was murdered on a train last night. The assailant got away before the authorities could catch him." Oliver slowly starts to read the article aloud, but before he can get to the description, I interrupt.

"He was seen wearing blue jeans, a yellow long sleeved shirt with a black button up hanging open, blond hair, with a black baseball cap pulled down to cover his eyes and a small, crystal necklace. About six feet tall or so."

"How the hell…?" He whispers, staring at me as I stare out the windshield in thought.

"I… saw them… But, she was still alive when I left the train…" I can feel my body sinking back into the seat, my arms wrapping tightly around my stomach.

"Would you like to talk to the detectives in charge of the case?" He asks, looking back at me with bored eyes.

"I'd rather not, considering I was on my way to break into a school." I chuckle as the car comes to a stop in a small street that the van can barely fit in. "And, how do you know where I live?" I question, staring out the window at my plain house.

"I called in a favor with your principal." Oliver chuckles, easily jumping out of the car. Lin's already out of the car as well and I follow suit. My stomach flips as I slowly make my way to the front door, pulling a set of keys from my pocket to unlock the door. Though, as soon as the tip of the key touches the door, the door swings open and a woman, reeking of alcohol, wraps her arms around me sobbing.

"Calm down, Mother." I sigh, slowly pushing the woman off of me before walking into the house, the two men clad in black following behind me and the sobbing woman. It's hard to make out some of the things she's saying, but there was something about reading about the dead woman and her thinking it had been me, despite the picture of the victim. I kick my shoes off and quickly make my way up to my room, easily pushing the door open. I lock the door behind me and start to get undressed, throwing everything onto my bed before I wander around my room to pick an outfit.

I pull on a pair of black pants that snuggly fit my thighs before flaring out from my knees. I pull on a black turtleneck, thankful that it'll hide the bruises that cover my neck, and a black vest with a fur-lined hood. Staring into the mirror on my wall, I frown at the dark red mass of hair surrounding my features before tugging it from the braid and tying it back into a high ponytail, some of the fringe falling around my face. Crossing my arms, I glare at the mirror before leaving the small room.

I bump into someone and a wave of nausea sweeps over me. "Don't go with them." The woman's voice whispers, resting her hands on my shoulders. "They'll just run more tests on you."

"No, they won't, Mother." I sigh once again, resting my hands on her forearms. "They're just going to protect me for a little while."

Her grip becomes extremely tight, tight enough to leave another set of bruises on my shoulders. "I'm your mother, damn it! I forbid you from leaving this house!" She starts shouting.

"I'm in a lot of danger and not the kind you can save me from. Not that you save me from much anyways." I growl quietly at her, pushing her hands off of me as I turn to walk down the stairs.

"Don't you walk away!" She shouts, grabbing me by my upper arm so tight that I spin around to face her. Her grip will leave yet another bruise.

"Let go." I glare at the woman, pulling my arm from her hand and storm down the stairs. I look at the two men waiting in the doorway and trudge over, easily slipping on a pair of black loafers.

"Momiji! Don't let them experiment on you again!" My mother shouts from the next floor, slowly starting her descent towards us. I ignore her and walk out of the house, knowing that the two men are following close behind me.

"She looks well." Oliver speaks quietly as soon as we're all back in the car.

"I suppose. She should try to get some sleep; I doubt the couch was comfortable." I answer, glaring out the window once again.

"Has it really been nine years since that incident?" Noll reminisces quietly.

"Yes. Nine years of a drunken slob, a cheating bastard, and tests that called me a liar." I quietly reply, slowly rubbing my arm where my mother had tried to restrain me.

"So, Minase really did cheat on her. That's rather shocking." The dark teenager mumbles, slowly going quiet.

I stare out the window and remain silent, digging my fingers in against my elbows. From what I can see, we're driving over a bridge. There aren't too many people on the sidewalk next to the railing, just two from what I can see. We pass a young woman, early to mid-twenties, pushing a stroller. Her hair hides her face, not that I'm going to try and get a good look. The next person we pass isn't really a person. It's a very pale, almost completely naked man. My eyes widen and I turn in my seat to get a better look at the thing, only to be met with an empty bridge. Drawing a blank as to why the sidewalk is so barren, I slowly turn in my seat to stare at the back of the head in front of me.

"Momiji, are you sure you don't want to go talk to the leading detective of that woman's case? We could make a quick stop for you." Oliver calmly asks, thumbing through the day's paper once again. "It shouldn't take more than half an hour."

"Fine." I sigh, looking towards the other end of the car at the sudden movement of something that's invisible. "I doubt it'll help much, though."


	13. Chapter 13: That was Useless!

We pull up in front of a non-descript, tall, white building. I look at it, almost expecting it to jump out, but it's as still as the statue next door. Lin, the first to get out of the van, pulls my door open and offers me his hand. I feel my cheeks going a little pink as I easily get out of the car and walk towards the door. My gaze wanders to the wall to look at the list of people renting from the owner of the building. A chuckle almost escapes my throat at the thought of the detectives having to work over a bar and under a group of giggling teenagers in café uniforms.

The sound of an elevator dinging caught my attention, springing me into action towards the sound. Somehow, the three of us squeeze into the small space with a lovely woman with hair that's a grey brown. I let my eyes wander a bit to the long locks. Her hair is so shiny and healthy looking, there's no way that the shade isn't natural. For a few minutes I'm so distracted, that the moment the door opens and we all file out, I catch myself wondering what she could need at a detectives office. I look out across the cramped waiting area, there's a strange trio sitting and talking amongst themselves. The younger two look like twins, and the man in his early twenties sits there smiling at the two. I follow behind the young woman that seems to know more than the average person about what to do here.

Once the woman is sitting quietly, smiling towards one of the twins, who smiles back at her, I look at the paper in front of me.

"Just put your name under hers, we'll figure out the detective on the case's name once we're in there." I hear Oliver quietly tell me. I nod, reaching for the pen when the small window shoots open. The sudden sound makes me jump, and nearly fall backwards.

"Ah, I'm sorry!" The young receptionist looking woman instantly says, "Do you need some help, miss?"

"Uhm…" I start, feeling my entire face burn at the sudden attention. Everyone in the room's gone fairly silent, there're a couple of whispers from the twins. "Yes, I think. I need to…" I hear more whispers coming from the corner of the room. "I need to speak with the officer that's working on a specific case." Somehow, the words tumble from my mouth, I can feel eyes on me and it's sending shivers throughout my body. No doubt that pesky spirit is hiding somewhere nearby.

"Alright. Do you know the detective's name?" The young woman in front of me smiles, almost sympathetically, as if she thinks I'm the victim.

"No, ma'am." My hands ball into small fists as I try to think of a way to not seem suspicious and keep Daisuke and Mika from getting involved any further than they already are. "It's about that woman that was murdered on the train last night…" All of the whispers in the room stop and something in the shadows of the corner move. "I was there just before it happened."

"Oh!" She says, her body language instantly changing. "If you'll wait here for just a moment, please?" She smiles, closing the window gently before running off, further into the office.

With a small sigh, I turn around and move to one of the seats, sitting as if I'd been obediently told to. My two, captor-protectors sit beside me. "You two don't have to stay, you know. Don't you need to go start setting up at Yuasa for the day?"

"We've got at least an hour. Especially with that useless bunch of slackers." Oliver sighs out, pulling a manila file folder from seemingly nowhere.

"That's rude, Naru. They're at least expert enough to have heard about some of the big shots. I bet they'd flip out if they knew who you really were." I feel a cruel smile playing across my lips. It broadens as he pales a bit with wide eyes. "Besides, Mai works pretty hard. When she's not off telling ghost stories with her friends, that is."

"Does she do it that often? That's actually how I met her." He sighs, his free hand moving to pinch lightly at the bridge of his nose.

"Well, she used to. I suppose she doesn't do it as often, now that she works for you." I chuckle.

After a few more seconds of chuckling, I turn away from the young, psychic-scientist. My eyes wander to the shadowy corner once again, that strange movement from before once again catching my attention. I try looking closer, only to nearly jump out of my skin as the door that is next to that small window slams open. An older gentleman stands there looking around, looking from the group with the twins, to the young lady with grey hair, then towards me.

"Are you the girl that said she was there?" He says in a gravelly voice, as if he didn't get a lot of happy moments.

"Y..Yes, sir." I nod towards him, pulse in my throat.

"And why was a school girl on a train so late at night?" He glared down at me, as if he thought I was lying.

"She was on her way to come work for me." Oliver chimes in, barely looking up from his file.

He looks from me, to the two men, then back. After a few seconds he looks towards the woman with grey hair, who just shrugs towards him. "If you were there, why didn't you call for help?" He says it accusatorily.

I can feel my stomach churn, remembering the eyes of that man as he smiled towards me, sizing me up as if he wanted to eat me. "I didn't… I didn't want to leave her in that train car with that man… His eyes were so cold… His smile was so dark." Wrapping my arms around my stomach, a feel my heart start to race from the fear I had felt the night before. "I prayed she would get off at the next station with me. I almost raced over to pull her with me. But, he was closer to her…" Someone's staring at me, and I want to see who it is, but I also don't want to look up. "I hoped, even more than anything, that the boy in the next car, would look up and come pull her out of harm's way."

"What did the man look like," the detective asks, much more kindly.

"Very tall, I think almost 175, maybe 180 cm. He had broad shoulders and a slightly muscular build. He was wearing a black baseball cap, pulled low to cover most of his face, but he was definitely blond, and he was wearing a yellow long-sleeved shirt with a black pull over, jeans, a pair of black and yellow shoes… I think he was wearing a red bead necklace and a gold hoop went through one of his ears."

"And the boy in the next car?" The detective asks.

"I..I think he had a tan hat and a tan trench coat.. There might have been some red trimming. He might have been wearing some black gloves."

"No, way! You were that girl in the red shirt!" The male twin speaks up from across the room. I feel my eyes go wide, hoping he doesn't say anything about the other two that were there, seeing as he was the one I'd just described.

"Why didn't you call the police?" The detective asks, still standing in the small doorway.

"No one takes a teenager seriously. If I had, and they'd taken me seriously, they still wouldn't have gotten there in time. The safest thing for her would have been to get off the train or move to a more populated car…"

"Then why didn't you tell her something?" The detective continues.

"Again, nobody takes teenagers seriously. I doubt she would have listened." I sigh, standing up with my arms clutched around my stomach. "If you don't believe me, just say so, instead of wasting my time." A shiver runs through my spine once more, and I look behind me to see a quick flash of white and red.

"What a strange mix of witnesses. Two teens, one probably a juvenile delinquent the other a bystander, and a psychic." The detective sighs, pressing the palm of his hand to the side of his head.

"Medium. She's a medium…" The boy across the room speaks up, looking towards the woman with ashen hair. My own gaze falls towards Oliver, who would probably want to speak with the woman at some point in the near future.

"And you're an onmyoji, that's what you said in your statement." The detective mumbled.

My gaze instantly shoots to the boy, and every thought I've had must run across my face. I can't believe that there's another onmyoji in the small room.

"Interesting." Oliver whispers, his eyes never leaving his file.

The boy pops up out of his seat and holds his hand out to me. I gently take it, and give it a small shake. "An honor to meet you." I say, ignoring his voice as he introduces himself.

"Come with me for a moment, young lady." The detective sighs once again, motioning for me to follow him. He leads me through a small, slightly cramped space and sits me in front of a computer. He clicks a few things, and a picture pops up on the screen and I have to bite my tongue to keep from screaming out. "Is this the man you saw?"

"Yes." I suppose the medium out there already gave them everything they need. Standing, I look at the screen one last time, a shiver running through as I remember the look in his eyes. "I don't think he's done killing, so please try to catch him." I bow for a moment then start to walk back to the small waiting area.

"Hold on!" The officer calls out, pressing a hand down on my shoulder, which I have to bite my tongue to keep from wincing. "What makes you say that? And what's your name?"

"Harano Yuna." I sigh, coming up with the name on the spot that didn't seem to pop up last night. "The look in his eyes said he wouldn't stop unless he was caught."

Shaking the hand from my shoulder, I exit the small room and start heading towards the small elevator, Lin and his charge easily standing to follow me. "Yuna-san!" The detective calls out, "Try to stay safe, if he saw your face, he might come after you to get rid of a witness." He looks at me with eyes full of concern.

"Well, I probably won't live two more days anyways, so there's no need to worry about me, detective…" I reply, pushing the button to call the elevator for a quick retreat.

"What does that mean!? Yuna-san!" The detective calls out as the doors in front of me open up wide.

I turn to say something at the same time I start moving forward, when a pressure on my wrist tugs me forwards.

"Momiji!" Oliver calls out and a strong, pale hand shoots towards me, gripping my upper arm just as I lose my footing in the empty elevator shaft. It only takes Lin a couple of moments to pull me out of the darkness, but it feels like hours, and the moment I'm in the brightness of the small room, I feel my eyes start to water and I cling onto the tall onmyoji that's saved my life several times in the last twelve hours.

"Are you alright?" A voice calls out from next to me. When I look up, the young man that was here with his twin sister is kneeling there, one gloved hand hovering over my shoulder the other slightly outstretched towards the open elevator doors. My eyes follow the direction he is holding his arm, only to see a couple of little white birds pecking at something in the darkness.

"Birds?" I can barely say much else, but the boy seems almost in awe.

"We'll take the stairs. Lin." Is all Oliver says, but Lin seems to get the memo and easily helps me to my feet, while leading me towards the door that leads to the stairwell.

The three of us slowly make our way down towards the ground level and as we go, I carefully swipe at my eyes as if the tears are acid.

"Are you alright?" Lin asks quietly, gently watching over me as we go down.

"I'll be fine… But, that was useless." I answer.


	14. Chapter 14: It's not Kasai!

Once again in the car, I curl up in the seat, staring intently at my knees as something rather large presses its head against my thighs. My eyes wander to the driver's seat, where Lin carefully pays attention to the road. "That boy had phantom birds…" I whisper, holding my hand about where the strange blur's head comes up to. There's no way it's the evil spirit, because for some reason, he's always clear as day.

"Yes, and?" Oliver asks from in front of me.

"What kind of creatures does Lin use?" I wonder aloud, as the creature on my lap becomes a little bit clearer.

"We're here…" Oliver sighs as the car comes to a stop. He easily gets out of the car and I follow suit at the same time that Lin does. We all enter the building, and almost immediately, several of the students call out and wave towards me. I wave back with an empty smile as the small group I'm in replaces our shoes with some the school offers to guests.

"Why do they know you?" Lin asks, looking as bored as he usually does.

"I may have told the principal I was thinking of transferring here and asked him to give me a tour." I answer nonchalantly, pushing some of my fringe from my face.

"Simply diabolical.." Oliver chuckles, "Remember, the name is Kazuya." He looks back at me sternly as we walk towards the conference room.

"You're the boss, Naru…" A smile plays across my lips as he slides the door open and we're greeted by the smell of delicious tea. Naru moves over to the small table I had seen Mai sleeping at the night before, and moves a couple of papers around. Mai, walks over with a small cup of tea, and while I move back into the corner to look over the books in daylight, I hear a quietly chipper voice speak up.

"What's the matter? Your eyes are all red."

Naru answers her question, saying that the female spirit from the night before had shown up and they'd had some form of staring contest.

"Why the hell didn't you call me?" Lin practically shouts.

"Because I wanted to see what would happen." His voice is as full of cockiness as it usually is. "And, I thought it'd be rude to wake you up over nothing." He adds, then quietly mumbles, "Or interrupt you."

I give him a quick glare before tuning him out completely, gently running my index finger along the spines of some of the books. Something starts to whisper into my ear, and I have to fight my entire body's sudden urge to run away.

'You know you want me to touch you again… Maybe if you beg properly, I'll give you what you want." The voice whispers, sending every hair on the back of my neck into attention. I yell at it internally to go away, because if no one else sees it, then there's no need to bother them with it.

Within moments, the door to the room opens, and the thing whispering into my ear disappears like a cat that's been sprayed with water. I look over my shoulder at the group that's walking in, to see Houshou talking to the group. I think he's saying something about Kasai making effigy dolls every night to curse people with. Frowning, I turn back towards the books and think his statement over. Whoever is doing it is making the hitogata every night, but it's not Kasai.

"Of course not. Moreover, they don't possess the power to have caused repeated harm…" I turn towards Naru, slightly impressed by his statement. It's not something a lot of people think of. Then again, most people aren't experts in the field. "Lin!?"

"Yes, it's possible that's the answer."

I turn to watch the rest of the group's reaction, and what I see is just a bit disappointing. And, yet again, I mentally berate myself for forgetting that most people only study one area of the paranormal.

"Fill us in!" Houshou says, obviously interested in figuring out what's going on around here.

"I can't believe I hadn't thought of it sooner," Naru sighs, standing up. "We're dealing with a Zuso." Of course, Mai, being new to this field of research asks what a zuso is. Naru starts to explain what it is to her, and I can feel my attention wander to some of the students running around outside. And it isn't long until I hear accusations being thrown at Kasai.

When I turn back to the group, Mai is staring at Masako, hurt, almost like she's the one being accused. "Wait, hold on…" She almost whimpers out

"It has to be Kasai." The Miko pipes up from next to Houshou.

"You think so, too?" Mai questions the older woman, her voice rising just a bit.

Matsuzaki starts trying to make her case, and while in theory, everything she says is possible, she's completely wrong.

"But, it's not true." Mai says, clutching at the shirt at her chest.

Naru looks at her for a moment, and then asks her why she doesn't think its Kasai. I move up behind the older girl, ready to help her make her case.

"I'm not sure, but I do." Her voice is a bit strained and she can't look him in the eyes. But, when she speaks next, she's much more confident in her beliefs. "She's not the one. I know it!"

"Mai's right. It can't be Kasai. Her powers aren't stable enough." I interject, confidently meeting the young scientist's gaze.


	15. Chapter 15: Not in Front of Him!

"Alright, I believe you. Both of you." He sighs, resigned to believing us. For a moment, I turn my gaze back to the students outside, at least, until everyone starts leaving the room. I hadn't heard where everyone was going, so I decide to just follow Naru, Mai, and Lin. From the small map I've made in my head, we're heading towards the classroom 2-5, the room with the cursed desk. I suppose there must be a hitogata stuffed deep inside.

Mai seems to be trying to keep the two men from going into the room, saying the class is probably in session. They burst through the door and head straight for the desk, while I follow behind them with no qualms, I hear Mai following close behind, mumbling about there not being anyone in the room.

Lin pulls the desk back and holds it still while Naru starts to pull the contents from inside of it. It only takes a couple of moments, but he pulls out a small piece of wood, carved into the shape of a person. He hands it over to the onmyoji, whom begins to examine it. I memorize the shape and writing, so that it'd be easier to find the other ones.

"They did a good job on it. But, it doesn't appear to be made for someone specifically. Its only intention was to curse whoever sat at this desk. Heat starts to rise up my neck, because for a moment, I find the onmyoji, intelligently handsome.

"I bet we'll find another in the track team's locker room. One that's aimed at the entire club, rather than at a single person." Naru sighs. Next thing I know, we're in the locker room, looking at the walls and floor for any sign of a small bit of wood.

Giving the floor a good tap, I look at the ceiling, since they're sometimes put in ceilings.

"I found it!" Mai exclaims. I look over to the corner, chewing at the inside of my cheek for not noticing the crack in the corner.

"Good work, Mai." Naru compliments her, and she lights up like a dog that's just been given a bone.

"Oh, no prob!" She chuckles, the barest of hints of a blush on her cheeks.

"This one is enmi, as well. A cursed desk and the track team. If we dig a little deeper, I'm sure we'll find the culprit soon."

We start walking back to the small conference room they're using as a base; I look out one of the nearby windows, confused by how fast time had gone by. For a few moments, my mind spins only to stop at the sight of the mostly naked spirit that's been following me. Curiosity starts to bubble into the back of my thoughts, on how the spirit could possibly be showing itself in the middle of the day.

Maybe it's just a more powerful spirit.

As soon as we're back in the room, Mai starts making more tea. Lin and Naru look over some paperwork for a few moments when Matsuzaki runs in, screaming that something's happened to Masako. We all turn to her, moving to follow her and check on the young medium.

The spirit follows close behind the small group as we make our way to check on the kimono-clad girl, and I have to fight the screams threatening to come out as it breathes down my neck. When we get to the young lady, she tells us about how she was pulled down a flight of stairs.

Had she landed any other way, she could have been seriously injured. After watching the ambulance drive off I walk back into the building, there are a bunch of girls surrounding the shoe lockers, whispering amongst one another.

As I pass them, I hear the name Kasai, several times. They all think it's her. In the pit of my stomach, fear and pity battle against one another for control. Soon, every member of the small ghost hunting group I've found myself temporarily aligned with, is in the small room once again. Matsuzaki is the first one to speak.

"Shouldn't we just go ahead and get this Kasai girl in lock down?" I have seated myself next to Lin, who is sitting in front of the monitors, and is making notes of some of the screens. All I see are students running across screens, unaware that they've been caught on camera. Using the screens to my advantage, I look at the onmyoji, sitting calmly, staring back at the miko. "Our lives are in danger here!" She proclaims.

"You can't!" Mai argues, "This isn't her fault! I swear!" She cries. I want to back her up once more, but I know that Oliver won't listen to me a second time, not with the amount of evidence piling up against her.

Soon, I find myself tuning them out to go over the evidence I've collected on my own, and what I've seen them collect. A cursed desk, a haunted track room… Kasai had known at least one of the victims of the desk, so if it was her, she wouldn't have had to make a hitogata for whoever sat there. Deep in thought, the sudden feel of hands massaging my sides completely destroys my thought processes.

The hands pressed closer, sending shivers down my sides and back, I bite at my lower lip, staring intently at the screens in front of me. It takes only a moment for me to realize, that the room has gone silent, there's only two other people in the room.

"Special guest?" Noll asks, looking through a small black book.

"What gave it away?" I whisper, barely able to speak as the hands start to move to places I definitely didn't want it touching.

"The moans." He replies as he leaves the room, probably smirking behind his book.

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" The man next to me sighs, turning towards me.

"I guess I didn't want to mess with the momentum—" I gasp grabbing at the seat of the chair as the hands make their move. One is resting on one of my breasts while the other's moved between my legs, pressing against spots no one was allowed to touch. Before I could stop it, a moan escaped my throat, and just as it did, a tear slid down the side of my face.

The sound of movement caught my attention, and within seconds, the pressures disappeared. Freezing in the chair for a moment, I slowly leaned forward, pressing my forehead against the table. Tears slowly came to my eyes but I did my best to keep them from falling.

"Did… Did you see it? That face?" I ask after what feels like an hour, but was probably only a few minutes.

I wait for a few moments, hoping he'll say that he didn't, but in mere seconds, I got my answer. "I did. And it's not a face you should be ashamed of." He whispers into my ear, hovering just behind me. "It's a beautiful face that your future lover will never be able to get enough of."

The tremors get even worse and my stomach churns. If the spirit is going to torture me, the least it could do is not do it in front of him.


	16. Chapter 16: Did Did that just happen?

**Warning! Intense situation ahead.**

* * *

"You don't have to be so depressed." A deep voice sighs next to me, moving back to his post to stare at a bunch of screens and take notes. "You made several cute faces like that one last night."

"You're not helping…" I groan, lifting my head just a bit to smack it back down onto the table.

"I'm just telling you, pleasure is a natural part of life. There's no need to be so ashamed of such a cute face." He chuckles, clicking away at the computer in front of him. "Why don't you pick a book to read? You've seemed very fascinated by them since you saw them."

"Fine." I sigh, pushing myself to stand. I move towards the shelf of books and pull out the most interesting book I'd seen on them. My legs shake as I make my way back to the seat next to the tall man, thumbing through the pages of the American book. Plopping back into the chair, a small vibration starts in my throat as a melody plays in the back of my mind.

As I flip through, I hear the door to the room open and close several times as students and staff alike walk in and out of the room. When I finally finish the book, a story about a girl facing some kind of adversity, the room is slightly darker than it had been. I look out the window and let out a low whistle, amazed that the sun already seems to be setting.

"Hey, Lin?" I whisper, as if breaking the silence will lead to some kind of curse.

"Yes, Yamatoku-san?" He answers with a normal level of volume, though perhaps there's a bit of concern.

"I need to use the bathroom. How are we going to do that, since you can't go in with me?" I respond, wriggling slightly in the chair. I hadn't noticed how long it had been, but my body is yelling at me for ignoring one of its most basic needs.

The mountain of a man next to me freezes, his eyes shadowing over as if he had forgotten about the basic need as well. "Er, we'll just have to play it by ear, I suppose." He sighs, standing up and closing the device in front of him.

I stand as well, my entire face burning. "I can go by myself. There's no need for you to stop working for something like this." I whisper, gently wringing my hands together.

"What if it shows up in the bathroom? Do you really want to be caught with your pants down?" He sighs, carefully grabbing one of my hands to pull me along behind him.

I follow behind him, blushing a crimson hue as several of the girls that we pass giggle and stare at our hands. "You're just going to stand outside, right?" I barely manage to whisper, breath catching in my throat at the idea of him coming into the small stall with me.

"Of course. You do need your privacy." He answers matter-of-factly. As if the idea of him going into the small room is absurd.

A chuckle escapes me as I push into the small room of bathroom stalls. I look into one of the mirrors, nearly falling into another fit of laughter at the look on my face. Of course, the tall onmyoji is a gentleman. If it weren't for the attacks of the spirit, he wouldn't be paying any attention to me in the first place. The eyes that stare back at me from the mirror look sad and hurt.

I knock on the second to last bathroom stall door, almost as if someone will answer. When no reply comes, I push the door open and work on getting my business done. As I kneel there with my pants around my knees, I look around the small cube of space. It's rather old fashioned for a more modern school. It's mostly all wood except for the metal basin, which is like a hole in the ground set into a thigh-level step.

With a sigh, I carefully step off of the step once I finish and pull my pants back up. Once my pants are fastened back up, I turn towards the door, pulling gently at the knob.

Except, the door won't open.

'Ah, finally a moment alone.' A deep voice sighs behind me.

My entire body freezes and my eyes start to tingle as panicked tears start to fill them. Slowly, I turn my head towards where the voice should be, preparing to scream for the man outside. But, I suppose the spirit has other plans.

Within moments, my entire body is slammed into the door of the stall, knocking most of the air out of me, and once the dead man is sure I can't scream, he yanks me back by my hair, throwing me back onto the thigh-level step so hard that I practically fall against the wall. Pushing my body, I kneel over the toilet, coughing at the pain in my chest from having hit the wall at the back of the stall. Panting quietly, I look back towards the tall, muscular, pale spirit as it stands behind me, smirking.

"Why are you doing this?" I ask it, hoping to buy time for Lin to realize it's taking far too long for me to come out. I try to move my arms and legs, but there are hands pulling my wrists and knees down against the wood beneath me.

"You remind me of a princess I once knew." He answers, moving just behind me, leaning over me with a cruel smirk. "I did this to her, too." He almost purrs, pressing large hands against my sides, shoving the hem of my shirt up until it was left in a pile around my captive wrists.

"But, why? Why are you so strong? How could she summon something as strong as you?" I somehow whimper out, anger filling my stomach as those cold hands come back to rest on breasts once again. A set of hips press in against my bottom and I have to fight the scream that wants to escape as I'm forcefully pushed forward by them.

"We choose the requests we take. Normally, I'd have you begging for more by now." It sighs once more, pulling its hips back a tad before forcing them forward once again. One of its massive hands slowly wanders down my stomach, easily popping the button of my pants, then the zipper. The hand pushes further down, shoving into my panties before I can scream for it not to. Then a couple of strong fingers press roughly against my pelvic bone, bringing a whimper of pain from my throat.

"I thought…" I start, panting quietly as the fingers slip further, passing over a sensitive bit of flesh. "I thought spirits just wanted to kill humans…" Not a complete fact, but anything to distract it and get information while I can.

"We want humans to suffer." The spirit whispers, pulling its fingers upwards to pass over that sensitive flesh once again. My body stiffens and I feel yet another twinge of fear, remembering the dream from before. Lips press against my shoulder before slowly moving down my back. As it moves further and further down, I try to writhe away from the creature behind me, but I can hear the smile in its voice as it moves. "Now, it is time for some fun."

The hand between my legs pulls away, using it's placement to its advantage by pulling everything from around my waist down to the middle of my thighs, leaving me exposed.

"Honestly, how can a girl like you have such a beautiful little spot…" The spirit mumbles, pressing his lips in against my sensitive folds.

"Please… Please stop…" My voice trembles, tears quickly falling down my cheeks. I hear chuckling behind me as that small bit of flesh the spirit had found earlier is pressed at once again.

"I don't think I will." The spirit whispers, pressing, what I assume is one of his fingers, past the folds of my womanhood, and deep inside of me. My insides tighten around the intruding appendage, bringing an enthusiastic sound from the spirit behind me. "Because, this is going to be rather enjoyable for me."

Soon, the appendage is joined by another, bringing another round of whimpers from my throat. The spirit's fingers begin to wriggle around inside of me, pulling out a bit before thrusting back in. My hips writhe, trying to pull further and further away from the spirit as it abuses my sensitive insides. It only goes on for a few minutes, but it feels like I've spent hours fighting against it and against the fingers within me.

The sensation between my legs disappears, leaving me panting quietly. For a moment, I think that maybe Lin's finally come into the room and chased it away once again, only to have that hope broken as something much thicker than the spirits fingers, presses against my opening. I turn my head to stare back at the spirit, more tears filling my eyes as it glares down at me. Though, maybe that's just how its face is. As I watch it, it suddenly pushes forward, leaning down over me, probably to get a better view of my face.

My eyes and mouth shoot open as pain tears through my entire body. I try to get a breath in, but just that action seems to cause more pain to surge through me. A pale hand comes to rest on my chin, forcing my mouth to close as the other hand wraps around my waist, holding me in place.

"Bet that felt good, huh?" The spirit whispers into my ear, nipping at my shoulder as his hand moves from my chin to grip at my throat. It starts to laugh, thrusting its hips forwards, stealing what little air I had left. The spirit releases my throat and I fall forward, pressing my cheek against the cold wood beneath me. I can hear myself begging for it to stop, but every movement brings either a new pain or a new sensation and it feels like everything is happening in slow motion. Then, it pulls my body up and back against its chest, continuing to push itself as deep inside of me as it can manage while chewing softly at my neck. The new position pushes against something inside of me and it starts to feel like I need to pee again.

After what feels like hours, the beast behind me pushes so hard that something squirts out of me and I'm peeing again, tears streaming down my face in embarrassment.

Then, the spirit disappears, laughing its head off. Kneeling there, I stare down at my practically naked body, expecting there to be blood, but it just looks like I peed again. I clean myself up once again, pulling my shirt and vest back on, then my underwear and pants. Flushing the toilet, I turn to glare at the door, expecting it to not open this time either. But, it does. I run to the sink and wash my hands, splashing water against my eyes to get rid of the slight swelling.

I dry my hands and move to the exit of the small room. Pushing it open, I wait to hear the deep voice of the Chinese man asking if everything had gone alright, only to be met with an empty hallway. Looking from one end to the other, I see no sign of either the tall man or students of the school. Shrugging, I figure that the onmyoji has finally gotten tired of babysitting me and run off, so I start to make my way back to the room the ghost hunters are using as a base.

I look back for a few seconds, wondering if that had really just happened.


	17. Chapter 17: A Moment of Peace

"Hey, Momiji! Wait up!" A deep voice full of kindness calls from behind me, stopping me in my tracks. I turn around to watch the Monk from the night before speed walk to catch up with me. There's a gentle, yet apprehensive smile across his lips. "Getting a moment alone with you is almost impossible. Where's Lin?"

"Probably back at base. I bet he thought it was weird standing outside of a girl's bathroom." I joke, hoping it will hide the shaking going through my entire body. I let my gaze move to him for a moment as we walk down the hallway, taking in the dark shirt with a strange boxed clover pattern and jeans. Heck, if I didn't know better, I would have said he looks more like a rock star or someone trying to get a start in the music industry than a monk. I suppose he's handsome, if you like that kind of thing.

"Ah, probably." The monk chuckles. "You know, I think we need to have a serious talk. About that thing." He sighs quietly, running the palm of his hand against the back of his neck.

"Do you want to call it off?" I question as simply as I can. I don't even miss a step, unlike the taller male who almost falls flat on his face. "Honestly, I don't know how my parents would feel marrying their only daughter to an apostate monk." I feel a small smirk play across my lips as his cheeks turn a little pink.

Seconds later, a large hand gently grips my wrist and pulls me to one side of the hall. I almost expect to hit a wall so hard that I get hurt, but, when I do finally hit a wall, it's gentle and I realize that I've been pulled into one of the stairwells and the monk has trapped me against the wall with his hands resting on the wall on either side of me. "I'm only on a little hiatus. I wouldn't mind getting to know you a lot better. You know, you're a lot cuter in person. Especially in this lighting…" He purrs, slowly leaning down.

I turn my face away, my eyes closing as tightly as they can; waiting for the suddenly all too familiar feel of lips, but the sensation never comes. Instead, a warm breeze passes over the left side of my neck.

"Huh. I thought he was being rather protective of you. I didn't think he'd leave marks, though." His voice mumbles from almost millimeters away, sending his breath across my bared skin, which sends heated shivers down my spine.

"He didn't." Is all I can manage to whisper as I gently push the monk away, moving to start the journey back to the room again.

"I see, so you and that boy from last night are an item?" He chuckles, easily keeping up with me.

"We're not. I have a hitogata of my own out there. The spirit connected to it did that." I sigh, balling my hands into small fists as I remember its latest attack. My gaze wanders to the windows next to us and I feel a frown playing over my features. The sun's probably set, which means that soon, all of the spirits are going to come out and play in full force.

The sound of a door sliding open pulls my attention away from the small ball of fear growing in my stomach only for it to instantly melt away at the sight of the onmyoji.

"Have either of you seen Naru?" He asks, a frown playing over his features.

"No. Actually, I haven't seen Mai for a while either." The monk answers.

We all look at one another, obviously reaching the same conclusion. "I'll take Momiji, you take Ayako." The onmyoji easily declares and we split up. The two of us head towards the back of the school, looking for any signs of the two teenagers. As we're passing by a fence, the two of us instantly halt at the sound coming from the middle of the small area. A panic filled voice calling for help.

"You don't think…" I start looking at a manhole, almost as if my eyes have been drawn to it. "That she'd be foolish enough to fall into a well, do you?" I sigh, gently pushing the gate door open.

"She's done it before." The onmyoji sighs quietly, moving just ahead of me, as if I'd end up falling in myself. He kneels next to the hole, and calls down into the darkness. Seconds later, Mai calls up and Oliver tells the Onmyoji to go find a ladder and a rope.

I sit next to the small hole in the ground, staring down as Lin runs off to go retrieve the items he's been told to get. "Mai, I didn't know you were a klutz." I call down to the girl, a small smile playing across my lips as I imagine the look on her face.

"I'm not!" She calls back, sounding almost defeated.

"Oh, really? Is that how you ended up breaking a camera and falling down not one, but two wells?" I can hear Oliver gently, at least for him, chide.

"Oh, come on! Don't gang up on me!" She whines and a small smile plays over my lips.

"It's alright!" I call back down, hoping to keep her distracted until Lin gets back.

"Yes, as long as you don't hit your head, you won't get any dumber." Naru chuckles, bringing an exasperated sigh from the girl he's trapped in a hole with.

"By the way, how'd you get down there, Naru?" I glance down just in time to see his paler than usual face.

"Mai pulled me down with her." I chuckle quietly at his answer, looking up at the night sky. Until, a strong hand grabs a handful of my hair and yanks me down to the ground hard enough to send an echoing, 'thunk' throughout my head. For a few seconds everything is hazy except a pair of blood red eyes and the sound of my name being called, and then everything is dark.

I hear voices talking around me, some calling my name, some calling for a pair of names that I can almost recognize. After a few minutes, strong arms lift me from what I assume is the ground and carry me. Cold air is quickly replaced by warm and sooner than I had hoped, the arms gently place me in a chair. My eyes slowly open, though I have to shield them from the light, it only takes a few moments to realize, I'm not dead.

"Are you alright?" A deep voice asks from beside me. I nod, letting my eyes adjust to the light of the room. Ayako is dabbing a small cotton ball onto Mai's hand and wrist while Naru sits across the table from them, staring at a rather large pile of people shaped pieces of wood. The monk is standing behind the priestess, commenting on how many there are.

"Here's one for Masako. There's mine and Mai's." Oliver sighs looking through the pile.

"I… I don't see one for Momiji" Houshou whispers, hoping I won't hear it.

"She probably used an alias, so it's not going to have her actual name." Oliver sighs, a slight look of confusion playing in his eyes.

"Is there one for a Harano Yuna?" Lin asks from across the room, looking between the screens and me.

"Ah! Yes, right here." The young scientist sighs, almost as if he's relieved. I on the other hand, look at the rather tall onmyoji.

"How'd you remember that name?" I ponder aloud, only for the tall male to smirk and continue searching the screens for possible disturbances.

"Hey, Naru, what's wrong?" A voice full of worry sounds from the other end of the room. Everyone stops and looks towards the person in question, but no one was near as fast to turn as Lin. The monk slowly moves next to him, slowly reaching out. "Are you feeling alright, man?" He questions, calling his name one last time as his hand comes to a rest on his shoulder.

But, he never gets an answer. And Naru starts to fall towards the ground; it's almost like slow motion. Everyone starts to make a move towards the fallen young man, and Mai starts to call out to him, as if that's going to be enough to wake him up. Lin moves next to him, telling the rest of us to call for an ambulance. For several minutes, everyone watches over the young scientist until a small group of paramedics come into the room and take him away.

"We'll take care of these…" Houshou whispers. He sounds guilty, but there's no reason for him to be. The priestess mumbles about going to help him and having Mai come with them.

I look up at the onmyoji whose charge has just been taken away in a white van. For a moment, I have an internal debate on what to do, but I soon reach a hand out and grip gently at the male's upper arm. "I'm sure he's going to be alright. He's always been pretty tough."

"I'll take you home…" The tall man whispers, gently shrugging my hand from his arm before leading me towards his own vehicle.

The ride is silent. I want to ask him so many things, but I know that it's not really my place to ask anything. I look out the window, watching strange shadows move here and there as we pass them. Soon the city turns into small neighborhoods and the car comes to a stop in front of my small house. It hasn't been too long since I've been in it, but it feels like an eternity.

"Momiji…" A deep voice sighs from behind me as I start to reach for the door handle.

"Yes, Lin?" I turn around, looking into the grey eye that's staring back at me. A gentle hand pulls me back, pressing me against the seat while another hand comes to rest on the back of my neck. For a moment, my entire body tenses up at the warmth that's suddenly holding me in place, and then a soft pair of lips press against my own. I stop breathing for a second before pressing back against the soft, questioning kiss.

After a while, the male pulls away, moving to kiss my forehead. "I'm sorry I left without making sure you were safe." He sighs, gently wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me into a small hug.

"It's fine. Oliver is your priority and your boss, I understand." I chuckle, leaning up to peck at the older gentleman's cheek. "Let me know which hospital he's at, alright? I'd love to check on him." I quickly get out of the car as he calls after me, though the rush of adrenaline that's been fueling me for the last couple of hours is starting to finally wear off, and a dull throbbing has started in the back of my head.

"How about I pick you up in the morning? I'm sure he would love to brainstorm with you if he's awake." The gentle giant calls after me, smiling as I nod towards him.

The rest of the night is a slight blur. The moment I opened the door, I felt all of the blood drain from my face as the smell of burned meat reaches my nose. I eat every last bit of the dinner my mother's made, since it's been so long since she's cooked for me. I take a nice, hot, and long bath, hoping it will help erase the sensory memory of the spirit's actions. And then I have a nice, deep sleep that I haven't had in a rather long time. Even with the feel of a rather large creature cuddling up against me.


	18. Chapter 18: Damn it!

Something heavy shifts on top of me, trying to get comfortable as light shines in through my window. My eyes slowly slip open, and I half expect to find the spirit on top of me, but all I can see is a slight blur of a creature resting it's head on my stomach. I look around the room, wondering if maybe the last couple of days have just been a dream.

I slowly sit up, pushing both the creature and my blanket off. Pain shoots through my wrists and knees. Lifting my wrist, the black impressions in my skin easily catch my attention. I'm so entranced by the darkness of the bruises I don't hear the angry voice coming closer and closer.

"You can't go in there! For one, it's immoral. And she's sleeping!" The voice calls.

Then the door to my room shoves open, revealing a tall man with dark hair covering his right eye and pale skin. "Sorry, for intruding." He mumbles, looking back and forth from the creature on my bed and my wrist. "If you want to go see Naru, you should get ready." He nods, slowly closing the door.

Blinking slowly, I push out of the warm cocoon of blanket and look through my clothes. I eventually settle on a pair of black tights that end at the middle of my calves, a dark red brown skirt that ends at the middle of my thighs and a slightly form fitting crimson turtle neck sweater. I look into the mirror, looking to see if there are any bruises showing. "If this keeps up, I'm going to have to invest in some major under shirts and tights…" I sigh, pulling on a pair of white socks.

I shove the door open and slowly wander down the stairs towards the living room where, no doubt, mother is probably yelling the onmyoji's ear off. Though, as I enter the small room, the two are sitting, silently glaring at either one another or something in the room. Lin is sitting there, his hands balled into fists on his knees while he looks at the coffee table, with a slight blush across his cheeks.

"Are you going run more tests on her?" Mother's voice growls from across the room.

"No." He answers, obviously annoyed. "She asked to see Oliver today…"

"If you try anything…" She continues, glaring daggers at the male.

"I'll bring her back right after we're done at the hospital." He sighs, standing and turning towards the entrance of the room, though the moment he sees me there he freezes, his cheeks flushing even more than before. His eyes wander over my body for a moment, as if assessing the outfit, and I do the same. He's wearing another suit, a dark grey that accentuates his eye.

Holding my breath for just a few moments, I smile up at him. "Hey, Lin. We should get going, it's getting pretty late." Chuckling I turn around, walking back out of the room to the front of the house. I shove on a pair of white sneakers, and while the quiet man pulls on his own shoes next to me, thoughts of the last few days race through my mind. Mother starts coming towards the door and before she can say anything, I run out of the house.

"You know, she loves you. She's worried about you." Lin chuckles, clicking his seatbelt into place.

"I can take care of myself. For the most part." I sigh, watching the world pass by as we make our way to what I assume is the hospital.

"Perhaps you can, but that doesn't mean you should have to just yet." He chuckles once again, reaching over to give my shoulder a gentle squeeze.

The hospital looms into view and for a moment I wish it was further away. I let my eyes wander to the man next to me, and follow the curves of his features and neck. I bite at my lower lip, my stomach fluttering as he turns to look outside the window.

As soon as the car is parked, we slip out and slip into the cool air. I make a quick run for the door, turning to watch as the tall man makes his way towards the building.

"Yamatoku, wait for me." He chuckles as he walks up next to me, resting a hand on top of my head. With his hand atop my head, he leads me through the hallways to a plain white room. There, sitting in a bed in the middle of the room in a white robe contrasting his black hair and dark indigo eyes, is Oliver.

"Good to see the two of you." He grumbles, looking through a file on his lap. "Did you two have fun last night, as well?"

"No, you punk." I sigh, moving to the side of the bed he's in. "How you feeling?"

"I've been better. How about you, Momiji?" The pale teenager looks up from his file for a moment to give me a once over. "You look nice, by the way."

"I've been better. And, thanks." I chuckle, leaning over his shoulder to give what he's reading a quick look over. "So, you like her for the culprit, too? Whoa, she's done it before?!"

"Apparently." He mumbles as Lin moves to the other side of the bed. "When did you learn to read English?"

"Back in grade school. Father kept sending books from England and America." I explain, straightening my back.

"I see. So, you have another arranged marriage?" He chuckles, staring intently at his file.

"I do. I have a feeling that he and I are going to try to cancel it, though." I answer, slowly moving to the window.

"Because you fell in love with a certain ghost hunter." Oliver chuckles, finally looking up from his file.

"If I did, I'll let you know." I chuckle as there's a knock on the door, I move towards the corner next to the window as Lin tells the person to come in. Houshou and Ayako walk in, greeting the onmyoji. "Hey, guys."

"So, how you doing, man?" Houshou asks the young boy in the bed, waving towards me to at least acknowledge my presence.

"It was a case of mild anemia, nothing more." Naru sighs, after a few moments I stare out the window, looking for something that'll catch my attention as the monk and priestess start arguing with the pale scientist about whether or not they should stay to find out who's been causing all of the mayhem. Of course, seconds later Mai comes crashing through the door and nearly falls to the ground before catching herself on the foot board of the bed.

Behind the young woman, another girl comes in, a Yuasa High student from the looks of her uniform. I think the Monk calls her Yuko. Behind her are Kasai Chiaki and Ubusuna with a bouquet of flowers in her arms. The three women from Yuasa sit down in the small row of chairs a few feet from the scientist's bed, while everyone else lines up against the wall.

"My first question is to Yuko and Kasai…" Oliver intones to the two young women, and I feel my attention slipping, making it sound like everyone around me is talking through a blanket. I gently take hold of my wrists, lightly letting my fingers play over the bruises through my sleeve. Even the sudden shouting barely catches my attention.

Instead of the small hospital room and the pale blue of the sky outside, I see the room of my first fiancé. I see his legs swinging back and forth on an invisible breeze. The grey of his skin and his glazed over eyes. Then, the faces of an older couple staring at black files. Eventually, I see a cold pair of eyes staring almost hungrily at me, as if the owner of them would just enjoy what he was thinking of doing. Then the body of a young woman, sprawled across the ground of a train, covered in wounds with blood seeping into her beautiful pink suit. Then another face enters my field of vision. An older woman surrounded by yellow and red.

One of my hands lifts to press against the side of my face, covering one of my eyes.

"Lin!" I hear from across the room. I turn towards the noise just as the tallest person in the room lunges towards Ubusuna, who has moved across the room to put the flowers in the vase. Lin snatches the flowers up and is rifling through them for a few moments as the woman next to him shouts at him to return the bouquet, when he pulls something out and hands it over to Naru. It's another hitogata.

"You must be exhausted by now, Ms. Ubusuna." Naru sighs, looking towards the woman. "A zuso takes both mental and physical strength, and it seems you're beginning to look pretty worn out." He glares just slightly at the woman, looking just a bit paler.

"Perhaps," the woman smiles sadly. "I suppose you could be right."

After forcing the Biology teacher to promise to never do something like this again, and promise to help find any hitogata that had been missed, everyone slowly starts leaving the small room. Kasai pretty much ignores the woman as they leave, and soon the only people left in the room are Oliver, Lin, and I.

"You look rather pale, Yamatoku." Oliver calls, looking at me curiously.

"You're one to talk." I chuckle, moving to sit on one of the vacant stools.

"Hm. Are you worried about something?" He inquires, staring a bit more intently.

"No. Just seeing things." I sigh, leaning forward as if that was going to help get the images of dead people out of my head.

"Lin, you didn't leave her alone at any point, did you?" Oliver inquires of the slightly imposing figure and my fingers instantly snap to my wrists.

"For a few minutes while she used the bathroom," the male answers, sneaking a glance towards me.

"I see." The young scientist whispers to himself. "Well, I'm sure her mother is going to start worrying about her soon, so you should probably get her home." He pretty much orders of the man, as he gives me a gentle look. "If you need someone to talk to, I'm always here for you, Momiji." He quietly adds.

I nod at the young male as I stand from the stool, following the taller male from the room. Soon, I once again find myself in the passenger seat of the small van, watching the world quickly pass by. Except for the occasional screech of tires and horns, the ride is silent. Absentmindedly, my thumb lightly runs against the side of my wrist, causing the occasional wince.

The car comes to a stop in front of a small park, and I resist the urge to turn around, instead staring at the beautiful blue of the sky.

"What happened while you were in the bathroom yesterday?" The deep voice of the man behind me, whispers, making it almost impossible to hear him.

"I was attacked." I whisper, not fully trusting my own voice. There is already a stinging sensation in my eyes.

"How bad?" He questions. The air behind me is practically vibrating with his anger.

"I'll live." I whisper, just a little quieter, as if it'll make it less real. A gentle grip pulls my hand away from my lap, and pushes the sleeve of my sweater up to my elbow, exposing the bruise that covers half of my forearm.

My arm is soon released and a door behind me opens and slams shut, slightly rocking the van. Lin is stomping off into the park and as he leaves the tears quickly make their way down my cheeks. Pressing my head against the dashboard in front of me, I let the tears fall. It's been years since I've let loose like this, and the tears seem never ending.

After a few minutes, I finally sit back against the seat, wiping any tears that are still there, away. My gaze wanders to the small children running around the park without a care in the world, and for a precious moment, the world seems brighter.

At least, until a hand clasps down over my mouth and the seat falls backwards. I stare up in horror into a pair of blood red eyes. Horror fills my stomach and I try to scream out, only for a couple of ghostly pale fingers to slip between my teeth while the spirit's other hand moves down to my chest, easily cupping one of my breasts.

"Don't bother wondering." The spirit sighs, licking at my cheek. "That woman really thought you a danger. So, she made a couple for you." It whispers, squeezing at my chest while shoving its fingers deeper into my mouth. My hands try to grab at the spirit, only I can't grab ahold of anything, which seems to make the spirit laugh.

I try to scream, but there's almost no air left in my lungs, and every movement I make seems to add a pair of hands into the mixture. "Maybe, if you behave, I'll make it feel good this time…" It whispers into my ear, flicking its tongue against my earlobe before moving its hands down along my body.

"I…Is this… Did you do this to her, too? To the girl in the Cherry Blossom Kimono?" I whimper out, trying to wriggle away from its touch.

"It is. And she learned to enjoy it. Much as you will, once I make you mine completely."

A hand presses between my legs and for the first time since all of this trouble's started, a strange burst of energy pushes through me and I somehow jump out of the car, slamming the door shut behind me as if that'll keep the spirit inside.

Looking around, I half-expect to see Lin lumbering towards me, but I don't see him at all. In fact the entire place is empty.

"There's no use in running. I'll catch you no matter where you go." The spirit chides, slowly phasing through the door of the van. My legs shake for a second or two, but soon I'm running for my life. I pass several people, who look at me like I'm crazy, but the fear in my stomach sends me running faster.

And all I can think is, "Damn it!"


	19. Chapter 19: Be My Last?

I pass several buildings, some larger than others, and start running through alleyways. It feels like I've been running for hours and my legs are screaming for a break. I look back for just a moment, and slam right into a warm body. My eyes instantly close, and my body freezes in terror.

"Harano-san?" A young voice calls as a pair of strong arms wrap around me, somehow keeping both bodies from falling to the ground. My legs give out for a moment, before I start trying to push out of the person's grasp.

"Harano-san, it's alright. Calm down, you're safe." A deep voice sighs, the vibrations playing against the palms of my hands. After a few moments, I look at the two voices and find a set of twins and a man who's just a tad taller than Lin.

"Y..You guys… Why are you…? Where…?!" My mind races, not entirely certain what to say first. My head snaps from side to side, looking for the spirit that was just behind me. I'm sure that I look rather insane, trembling as a pair of hands hold me in place while searching for something that, for all they know, isn't there.

"We live around here." The male twin smiles, though he looks a bit worse for wear himself.

"Hey! Why don't you come on up, we'll get you a little tea to calm your nerves!" The female twin practically giggles, moving just behind me while resting her hands on my shoulders.

"But… It'll…" I start, my breathing instantly quickening.

"Nonsense!" The girl says, dragging me behind her while the two males follow her. I soon find myself in a rather large apartment, sitting at a small bar-like structure built into the wall shared with the kitchen.

"So, that thing that was chasing you…" The boy starts, a slight blush creeping across his features, as if he'd seen it, and knew what it was doing. "It's different from that thing that pulled you into the elevator shaft."

A blush quickly spreads across my own features as I glare at the length of counter in front of me. But, I nod. No reason to hide the truth from an onmyoji. "Y…Yeah." I somehow manage to choke out.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asks, his hand twitching as if he wants to reach over and console me.

"Not really…" I whisper, instantly grabbing hold of my left wrist. "But, maybe I should." I sigh, carefully releasing my wrist to pull my sleeves up to my elbows and the neck of the sweater down to make the bruises on my neck more visible. The twins gasp, but the slightly older male just stares intently at the wounds, an almost knowing glint in his eyes.

"Wh…What the…?" The boy reaches out and gently presses his gloved hand against the delicate flesh of my neck, which sends a shiver down my spine.

"Are you sure that your boyfriend didn't just get out of hand?" The older male in the room inquires with a half-hearted smile across his lips as if he's trying to comfort me.

"Yes!" My face starts burning as I glare at the male, before letting my gaze fall back to the counter. "I'm a bit of an amateur ghost hunter. This last case I was working on, I got a little careless." I whisper, shaking at the memory of those blood-red, blood-thirsty eyes. "The suspect was using Enmi to curse people, and I made the mistake of giving her a name and a face." My hand comes up and I gently wipe at the tears that have sprung to life.

"Well, that shouldn't be too hard to fix. Just find the hitogata, burn it, and throw it into a river." The boy smiles, sipping at the cup that's been put in front of him.

"We did. She made two for me." I shiver, staring at the counter in horror. I can practically hear the boy doing a spit-take at my words.

"And… One of them wasn't with the others?" He whispers with a little bit of his own horror.

I nod, slowly reaching up to rub at the back of my head, which has started throbbing again.

"Goodness, to be going through this and in the middle of a homicide investigation." The younger male sighs, resting his head against his hand while tapping his cheek in thought.

"Harano Yuna doesn't exist. They won't find me for further questions unless something else happens or someone tells them." I almost chuckle, leaning against the counter almost lazily.

"Would you mind if I gave the back of your head a quick look?" The older gentleman asks before moving to start parting the hair on the back of my head. I don't really fight, as my eye lids start to droop, and it's getting hard to focus on much. "There's a pretty nasty bump back here. Did you lose consciousness when it happened?" He asks but I have a hard time speaking. A loud noise pulls my attention from the darkness, and the three are all looking at me curiously.

"I…I'm sorry. What did you ask?" I inquire, looking up towards the older gentleman.

"Did you pass out when you hit your head?" He smiles gently, sitting on the other side of the young onmyoji, when he had been behind me just a few seconds ago.

"I think… Maybe? It happened while I was waiting for Lin to get a ladder to help Naru and Mai… I heard voices, but the next thing I remember seeing is a school conference room. It hasn't really hurt that much until just now."

"You might have a mild concussion. I don't think all that running helped." The man chuckles, sipping at the cup in front of him.

I bite at my lip, one of my thumbs slowly moving along the bruise that covers almost half of my arm. "It helped my sanity a little." I whisper, biting down hard enough that I eventually taste blood. "If it's going to kill me, it should just get it over with." I whisper to myself as small tears sting at the back of my eyes.

"That's not something to wish lightly." The younger male says, reaching over to press his hand against my shoulder, which causes me to wince away. He looks confused for a moment until the male behind him speaks up.

"Someone in your house has been abusing you, haven't they? That's what the bruises on your shoulders say, at least. They're much smaller than the ones on your wrists."

"She only does it if she's really drunk..." I whisper, balling my hands into fists.

"That doesn't make it alright." The girl behind the counter pipes up; leaning over to the point that I'm surprised she doesn't fall. "What about your father?"

"He's even worse." I sigh, slowly trying to climb down from the strangely tall chair. "I need to go find that other hitogata. Thank you for your hospitality." I bow, swaying slightly from side to side. For a second, the floor looks like it's coming closer and closer.

"Ah, before you go!" The girl calls, stopping me before I can make a good enough escape and snapping me out of the strange movements. "I'm Sumeragi Hokuto! This goof," she motions to the boy that looks just like her, "is my twin brother, Subaru. The big guy over there is Sakurazuka Seishirou."

"Sumeragi? As in that big time family, Sumeragi?" I whisper, looking between the two, before looking at the older male with a narrowed gaze as the two teenagers nod. "Cool. I guess I can give you my real name, as long as you don't go blabbing to the police about me. I'm Yamatoku Momiji." I wait for the recognition, and when it's there, all of their eyes instantly soften.

"I had heard they'd been having some pretty nasty problems. Did not peg Chidori for an abusive alcoholic, though." The older gentleman sighs, looking at his watch. A loud banging starts at the door and I almost fall over from the surprise that they all seem to have been waiting for.

"I'll go let him in." Hokuto chuckles, easily bouncing off towards what must be the front door. As she comes bouncing back, a smile is easily playing across her features as a tall, pale man appears behind her. Staring at the man, all of the blood drains from my face as Lin steps into the small room, looking down at me with slightly narrowed eyes. At least, until he sees my wrists and neck exposed and his entire face softens.

"How…?" I start, looking between the tall male and the three people standing next to the small counter.

"I had a feeling you would run into them again, so I gave the boy a note when he helped you at the detective's office." Lin sighs, gently reaching over to fix the neck and sleeves of my sweater. "Come on." He sighs, carefully wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

"Hope to see you again, soon, Momiji!" The twins call out behind us, as the taller male lightly leads me from the room and the building.

"I'm sorry. If I made you upset earlier." He whispers, his grip on my shoulder tightening a bit.

"You didn't. I still have a hitogata out there…" I shiver, a small tear running down my cheek at the memory of those cold eyes. He carefully helps me into the van, as if he's afraid I'll break. Honestly, I'm surprised I haven't. A heavy weight rests it's head on my lap, and a sad sigh slightly echoes around me as Lin gets in on the other side of the car. "You have a dragon, don't you?" I whisper, gently petting the creatures head. "And at least four other Shikigami."

He stares at me dumbfounded for a moment before leaning over to stare deep into my eyes, sending heat shooting into my cheeks. "I see. That's why no one noticed when you were younger. Someone put a blockage on you." He chuckles, leaning a bit further to press his lips against my forehead. "Houshou is out looking for the hitogata that Ubusuna told us about. I'm sure your second one is going to be among them. You can sleep easy, tonight." He smiles sweetly, as if he's worried he might say something that'll leave me a balling mess.

"Lin…" I whisper, as the car starts moving and he keeps his eyes fixed on the road around us. "I don't want the last thing I ever feel… To be what that thing did to me…" I whisper even quieter, staring out of the window as the road passes by.

"It won't be. I promise." He whispers back, his knuckles going almost white on the steering wheel in front of him.

My tongue passes over the small bite wound on the inside of my lip, as a thought passes through my mind. 'If possible, I want him to be my last.'


	20. Chapter 20: It's My Fault

**Warning, there may be some intense situations in this chapter.**

* * *

I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I know, we're in front of my home once again. Lin quickly comes to help me out of the other side of the van, a hand resting just under my arm to keep me from falling. I look up at the imposing building surrounded by darkness and lean against the male that's been keeping me safe for the last few days. Something about the place seems colder than normal.

"Wasn't it just the afternoon?" I whisper, looking around slightly confused.

"Yamatoku-san?" Lin whispers, gently pressing his fingers against my upper arm. "You've been sleeping on and off for hours now. Do you have a key?"

"Not on me." I whisper, nodding slightly as I pick up a small, fake rock and hand it over to the onmyoji, watching him fiddle with it to pull the key out. He probably doesn't even need the key to open the door, though.

The moment the tip of the key touches the knob, the door swings open. And an iron-rich stench shoots out of the doorway, instantly waking me up. I know that I shouldn't go in, but something in my stomach pushes me to investigate the strange smell and sensation coming from within. Even Lin tries to pull me away from the opening, but the tips of his fingers barely manage to graze my elbow. The entire room smells of the American pennies my father used to send me. I slowly walk towards the living room, the room I had left my mother in just hours ago. The smell gets stronger as I get closer, and when I flip the light on, all I can see is red all over the room and my father, thrown across the coffee table with his throat gaping open. The gash is deep and meaty, and shining slightly in the artificial light. There's blood on the walls and ceiling, slashing across the white plaster almost like someone had been throwing around paint. My stomach instantly drops to the ground, along with my gaze.

There's a trail.

I start to follow it absently, as if it'll lead away from all of the horrors, instead of towards more of them. It leads up the stairs and stops at my bedroom door. Shaking, I reach out and turn the knob. I flip the light on, and I fight the urge to start screaming. On the wall just above my bed, in a bright crimson, are the words, "You're Next." I didn't think my stomach could drop any further, but it feels like it falls almost completely out of my body. There are small rivulets of blood, dripping down the wall, and my eyes follow them, to a few drops of red on my sheets, then further to the floor. My mother is splayed on the floor, her clothes torn here and there, blood seeping out from small holes in her skin. Her face is turned towards the door, staring at nothing, yet so full of terror and pain. A wave of something quickly fills my body and I'm screaming. I scream like the world around me is ending. I scream even more than when the spirit had attacked me.

Within moments, Lin is there, gently clasping his hands around my shoulders, carefully leading me away from the room, and out of the house. I can hear the screams still escaping me, though they're muffled by Lin's chest. He's gently carrying me to the closest home, a neighbor that we've never spoken too much to, and ringing at their doorbell. My nails are digging into the fabric of his suit coat, and I hear a slightly confused woman asking what's wrong.

I don't know how long I screamed into his chest, but when I couldn't anymore, I just cried and cried. It didn't take long for the tears to stop, but when they did, I was empty of everything except the haunting images. Lin has softly placed me on the ground, sitting me against the wall of my home's fence, his suit jacket wrapped loosely around me. I watch as people, several of them, many from the neighboring homes, a few policemen, the detective I had spoken to yesterday, the ashen locked medium that was there almost immediately after him, and a strange trio, two twins and a very tall male.

"Momiji…" The male twin whispers from a mere meter away. I think I look at him, but he doesn't seem to react to it.

"Oh, you poor thing!" The female twin whispers, gently sitting beside me, a hand resting on my shoulder. Heat instantly fills my eyes, and for a moment, I think more tears will start to fall, but nothing comes.

"I..We can't tell her everything he did here…" I hear a female voice from somewhere.

"She deserves to know how much danger…" A man's voice sighs, almost indignantly, it sounds like the detective's voice, but I can't be hearing him all the way from my room.

"You saw the poor girl; she's already almost catatonic… Could you live with yourself if you pushed her over the edge?"

"Is there something you didn't tell me?" He looks towards the medium expectantly, though she looks too uncomfortable to answer.

"He doesn't want to just kill her. He's going to torture her." She whispers, gripping her hands tightly against her chest.

"What else is new?" I whisper to myself, pulling the coat being leant to me tighter around my body.

"What?" The girl next to me asks, pure confusion going through her features.

"Nothing…" I whisper, shaking slightly in the chilled air. Within moments, the detective from the day before, and the ashen-locked medium are standing in front of me, almost twin looks of sympathy and horror in their eyes.

"Alright, Harano-san. Or, should I say Yamatoku-san?" The detective starts, already earning a glare from the tall onmyoji next to me.

"Harano is the name I use when I'm working. Mother doesn't like strange people coming to our home." I answer, almost blankly, as if the lie is more natural than the truth.

"I see. Yamatoku-san, I'm sure you can guess who is responsible." He continues. When I nod, he looks over to the young woman next to him.

"We feel it would be safer for you to go to a family member's house." She whispers, beating around the bush. I let my eyes wander between her and the detective.

"Detective… Have you read my files?" I sigh, and the world around me gets a little louder. I know they still use it for references here and there. When he nods, he looks away, as if ashamed of what he's seen in it. "He wants to hurt me… That much is clear. But, does he want to hurt me like father did?" All of the emotions drain from my face, if there were any left, like the blood drains from his. His lips don't move, but I hear his voice whisper, almost sadly, without his mouth opening. Everyone is staring at him, waiting for him to come up with an answer, and I turn towards the young woman, who is looking at him with a new look of horror, and I can her whispering without moving her lips as well.

"Do you have any family in the area?" The detective finally sighs as pain only a father could feel races through his chest and eyes.

"I don't have any other family." I answer, afraid of what would happen to my two friends.

"Well, I went ahead and looked into your mother's finances. The house is paid for, if you want to keep it. Would you like us to grab some clothes for you?" He finishes, scratching at the back of his head as if confused about what to do.

"I can do that!" The female medium quickly answers running back into the house as if a fire had been lit under her. As we wait, for the woman to come back, the tall man who has been watching over me for the last few days gently sits down next to me, an arm easily slipping around my shoulders.

"Do you have someone that you can stay with?" The detective asks, turning his attention to the man with an arm wrapped firmly around my shoulders, as if he knows just what's going on between the two of us.

"She can stay with me. I have a guest room in my apartment." Lin answers, gently squeezing at my shoulder, fibbing almost as easily as I had.

"Alright. Once Mirei brings your clothes, you're free to go." The detective sighs, looking back at the house.

"Don't you need a statement?" I ask him, trying to look up at him with some semblance of an emotion.

"Officially? Yes. But, you walked in, found your father first, followed the blood up, and found your mother in your room, yes?" I blink up at him, my stomach clenching.

"Yes." I finally manage to whisper, gripping tightly at my elbows.

"Then you can come by tomorrow and tell us. Mirei got a pretty good picture of what happened." He smiles gently, as if he's not used to dealing with the living.

"It must be difficult, to see so much death." I say as the young medium walks back up with a couple of big bags.

"I got what I could. There were some things missing."

"Thank you." I whisper, staring at the bags as if it was all some kind of sick joke.

"You're welcome. I know it's painful and traumatizing, but eventually the memories will fade." She smiles, and she is genuinely trying to make me feel better.

"Nine years haven't eased the pain of the last body I found." I manage to whisper, a quick flash of swinging legs blinding me for a moment as I take hold of the bags stuffed with clothes. A pair of hands come into view, taking a gentle hold of the bags, while also leading me towards the dark van I'd recently spent so much time in. I look towards the onmyoji for a moment as he easily puts the bags into the back seat, then carefully grabs my shoulders and leads me to the front passenger side.

"I'm sorry this happened." He whispers quietly, helping me into the seat.

"Why are you sorry?" I whisper, my arms wrapping tightly around my stomach. "This is my fault, after all."


	21. Chapter 21: What Did He Do?

**Warning, there is some violence in this chapter!**

* * *

The door to the apartment closes with a loud click. My gaze travels around the room as small shadows move around. Whispers echo around me, exclaiming about the girl being back. My head droops slightly, leaving me staring at my shoes.

"Last time I was here…" I start, leaning down a little to pull at the laces of my sneakers "Who took my shoes off?"

"Naru did." Lin answers, easily kicking off his loafers to reveal a pair of black socks. I stare for a moment longer before the world swims and the floor starts to come closer and closer to my face. An arm quickly wraps around my waist, just as my face is an inch away from smashing into the floor and easily helps me into a sitting position in the small front doorway. Strong hands gently pull my legs up one at a time to pull my shoes off, reminding me of a time before my life had gone to hell.

"Hey, Lin…?" The world spins as I call out to the man. "I like you." I feel a small smile playing across my lips. "Like a lot." I giggle, falling back onto the floor.

I watch the tall man easily loosen his tie before he carefully climbs over me with a soft smile. "Yamatoku, are you alright?"

With a big grin, I easily wrap my arms around the man's neck, pulling myself up while pulling him down. My eyes close and I feel familiar warmth at my lips as I fall back to the ground, bringing the man down with me. Gentle hands come to a rest on my sides. The hands slowly move up along my sides, stopping to rest on my cheeks before the lips disappear from my own.

"Lin, even if it's a lie…" I stare up at the man, smiling as I look back and forth between his different hued eyes. "Would you say that you like me, too?" My eyes start to sting and my chest starts to ache as images of Uncle Kenshiro run through my mind. I can see the pain in his eyes as he slowly leans down, his lips pressing against the flesh right in front of my ear.

"The moment I heard your voice, I knew I had to hold you in my arms." He whispers, pulling away to lift me up from the floor, almost as if I weigh nothing at all. "Seeing you, cemented that desire." I press closer to his chest as a small tear falls down my cheek, one of my hands balling into a fist against his chest. He carries me further into the small grouping of rooms before softly placing me on the black couch Naru had been on just the day before.

"I guess I get the couch tonight, huh?" I giggle, slowly curling up into a small ball on the soft, black material.

"First things, first. You need to eat something." Lin chides, sounding further and further away.

"Do I?" I giggle again, swiping gently at my eyes as a strange little creature walks across the table in front of me. "Did you know that there's a bunch of little imps running around?"

"I did. They're mostly harmless." He calls back; rummaging around the small room that I'm sure is almost a mirror of this one, with exception of a fridge and some more devices for cooking. My hand slowly reaches out; index finger pressing against the top of the small being's head.

"It's so weird…" I whisper, watching the tiny thing looking back at me curiously before it takes a gentle hold of my finger.

"It really is." A voice calls from behind the couch as a hand comes to rest on my head. "They don't usually like strangers."

"You can see them, right?" I turn to look up at the pale man, looming over the couch.

"I can. Here." He chuckles, moving around the furniture to sit next to me, a small plate of curry in his hands. "You're practically a skeleton."

Sitting up, I take the plate and look at the small creatures slowly gathering around us. "You said I had a blockage. What does that mean?"

"Someone basically put a spell on you, stopping your power or powers from manifesting." He answers as he watches, waiting for me to eat. I indulge him and start to eat the warm, soup-like substance poured over rice. It's probably one of the best meals I've ever had, and I'm sure it must reflect on my face.

"Lin… Can spirits make injuries worse?" I turn my attention to the man as darkness passes over his features.

"Some, yes." He replies, falling back against the couch. He looks tired, and guilt quickly rushes to the pit of my stomach. For a few minutes, I eat in silence, staring at the creatures that are staring back at me in astonishment. I place the plate on the table, next to the creatures. There's still a little bit of food, and I watch as the small creatures quickly start to fight over who gets what's left.

My hand slowly moves to tug the sleeves of my shirt up. The bruise is even darker than I remember it being, or maybe my skin is just paler. "It's going to kill me, isn't it? And if it doesn't, that man will…" I feel my stomach lurch before I fall against the onmyoji's chest. My body is shaking uncontrollably, as I imagine the things that might end up happening.

"I won't let either of them hurt you…"A deep voice rumbles against my face as a gentle hand comes to rest on the top of my head while an arm easily wraps around my waist. "For now, all you need to do is get a little bit of sleep."

"What about you? Between taking care of Naru and I, you must be about to collapse." I mumble against his chest, grasping tightly at his vest with balled fists.

"I'll be fine," he whispers, gently moving to lay me down on the couch. His rather large palm rests on my forehead for a moment before sliding over my eyes, sending me into an eerily deep slumber.

I find myself surrounded by small white lights and darkness. Sighing, I look around, half expecting to find blood red eyes staring me down, but I find nothing.

"How can someone so small and cute, be such a danger magnet?" I familiar voice calls from behind me as a pale arm clad in black fabric slides over my shoulder.

"Because I stopped caring a long time ago?" I whisper, turning to look up at the deceased young twin. "Hey, Gene."

"If you had stopped caring, you wouldn't be fighting so hard to keep living, Momiji. I'm sorry about your parents passing." He chuckles, pulling me closer to him while pressing his lips against the side of my head.

"I'm sorry that Oliver's gotten himself in the hospital." I look up at the almost exact copy of the boy in question.

"He's always been hard headed." He chuckles, lightly ruffling my hair.

"Are they here?" I ask, feeling my slightly empty eyes filling with just a smidgeon of hope.

"Not exactly. They moved on already." He smiles sadly, pulling me even closer to wrap both of his arms around me, surrounding me in warmth the dead shouldn't have. "They did tell me to tell you, that everything is going to be alright; and that they regret hurting you so much."

"Why couldn't they wait to tell me that themselves?" I whimper, shaking in the young medium's arms. "Gene… Can you show me what happened to them?" My head tilts back to see the frown playing across his features.

"I can't… But you can see it if you concentrate. But, don't push yourself too hard." One of his hands comes to rest gently on my cheek, wiping away a tear that can't be there.

With a deep, shaking breath I close my eyes and think about the two people that raised me, and images start flashing through my mind.

* * *

"Chidori! Open up!" My father's voice calls, his fist pounding against a solid door.

"What do you want, Minase?" Mother's voice grumbles, pulling the door open to glare at the man.

"We need to talk. Momiji is starting to show signs of powers." The male speaks urgently, easily pushing through the door and making his way into the brightly lit living room.

"That's impossible. After all those tests when she was a child, there's no way she could have any abilities. We don't even have ours anymore." She retorts, stroking her boney fingers through her long crimson hair.

"I was at her school the other day. I saw her wandering around the hallways, did you know she still plays piano and sings? When she got caught, she fled the room, but she wasn't walking or running! She was floating! Or rather, her astral form was! Chidori, she can project!" He calls excitedly, turning towards the woman that's staring at him as if he's gone mad.

"You're not even supposed to be within 15 meters of her!" She shouts, storming towards the man.

"I have every right to see me daughter!" He shouts back, glaring at the woman.

"Not after what you did to her!" She retorts, shoving her finger against his chest as hard as she can.

"What I did? And what have you done? She's almost nothing but bones! Don't get me started on those bruises on her arms!" The man yells, slapping her hand away from him. "And why hasn't she been to school the last few days?"

"She got herself cursed…" The woman answers, falling to the couch with her hands tangling in her hair.

"How the hell…?"He sighs, turning away from her for a second to see a small spoon on the table before him. He smiles, picking up the bit of metal to give it a try for old time's sake. He almost didn't believe it when the well of the spoon bent backwards into an almost perfect ninety degree angle. "Dori-chan, look!" He exclaims, spinning around to find the woman unconscious on the couch, and a painful stinging in his neck. There's a strange blond boy with a black hat that he's never seen before, smirking as if he's just had more fun than a child at an amusement park. The man's eyes wander to his dripping red hand.

Then the spray starts, sending shades of crimson across the walls and the ceiling as the man turns around, trying to figure out what's happened. When he falls across the table, the spray slowly starts to die down, just as the man takes his last breath.

The blond boy, barely in his twenties, picks up the sleeping woman, covered in her old lover's blood, and carries her from the room, up a set of stairs and into the only room marked with a plain little placard. He throws the woman onto the floor, looking around the space to judge what kind of person stayed there.

"A boring girl, huh?" He growls slightly, locking the door as he wanders around the small space, opening drawers and the small closet, his fingertip running along the spines of a few of the books kept on top of the dresser. "She seemed much more interesting on the train." The man whispers, falling onto the bed in the room, smearing just a bit of blood against the comforter. His gaze falls to the wall, the empty space easily sparking his imagination. He leans back, scraping some of the blood from his face to paint some letters onto the wall. He only had enough for one word before the liquid began to dry against his, and undoubtedly, the woman at his feet's skin. His gaze wanders to the older woman on the floor. She may have been extremely beautiful once, but years of stress and anger had aged her beyond her years. The man stood once again, wandering back towards the dresser, which he begins to search through.

"Organized…" He smirks, finding shirts, pants and skirts. Then he comes across her underwear. "Now, where did she get the money for some of these?" He chuckles, pulling out a couple of the sets and the stand-alones. "Little girls shouldn't have silk…" He practically purrs, tossing the bits of fabric across the bed.

* * *

"No more!" I whimper, falling to my knees, tears streaming down my cheeks in both horror and embarrassment.

"It's alright, Momiji." The pale figure in front of me whispers, resting both of his hands on my shoulders, as if it'll change what's happened.

"Father… He could bend spoons again…!" I manage to squeak out between sobs, pressing my knuckles against my eyes.

Strong arms wrap tightly around my shoulders and a small surge of courage fills my stomach. "I can put you to a true sleep, if you'd like…" The boy mumbles against my head, his hold tightening a tad.

"I want… No, I need to know what happened to mother as well…" I whisper, closing my eyes once again to concentrate and catch the thread once more.

* * *

The blond man looms over the woman once again, smirking before moving to lie along the length of bed. He buries his face against the pillow, taking in a deep breath as his hand starts to wander across the thicker blanket. He takes another deep breath, trying to figure out the scent on her pillow, strawberries or peaches. His finger hooks into a small ball of cloth from the small pile he's made. He brings the new cloth towards his face, staring at the soft fabric.

"This'll be nice. I rarely get to take trophies…" He purrs, giving the small bit of clothing a quick whiff, flowery laundry soap. He's flipped onto his back and his free hand rests on his stomach, slowly moving lower and lower. The man pulls another bit of cloth from the pile, this one much silkier than the last, and presses it against his bare flesh. A visible shiver runs through him as the minutes tick by. After a few moments, he rolls over and lets out a long groan. He sits up, smirking once again and runs the tip of his finger along the wall. For a moment, the word appears on the wall, as if written with a liquid, but it disappears after a few minutes.

"She's going to be mine. Even if for only a short time." He growls, turning towards the woman stirring on the floor.

"Wha…" The woman's voice sighs, as if waking up from a deep sleep. As her eyes land on the man, terror quickly fills her eyes. "Who are you?!" She shouts, quickly crawling backwards towards the door, looking between the words on the wall, a mix of blood and some other fluid, and the blond man covered in the red hue, who has started moving towards her, his clothes in slight disarray.

"The man that's going to play a game with your daughter. But, for now, you'll do." He purrs, charging towards the woman as she scrambles to open the door. Within moment's her head is yanked back and she falls onto the floor, eyes going wild as the man's thoughts fill her head. The man quickly crawls on top of the woman, pulling a small, sharp bit of metal wrapped with chord from around his neck. The first strike catches her by surprise, the woman watches as spots of blood start to appear across the room.

"Why?" The woman cries, "Why are you doing this?!"

"Because she saw my face… She looked me in the eyes when her friends avoided them." He purrs again, his fist balled around the bit of metal as he brought it down upon the woman again and again. "I'm going to enjoy watching the light leave her eyes as she realizes I'm coming for her."

The woman cries in pain, over and over as her body quickly begins to go into shock. She stares at the door, hoping her daughter won't walk through it. As she watches it, a familiar face phases through the wood to stare down at her sadly, and that's when she takes her last breath. Soon, she's standing beside her body, looking at the older man next to her, the man she had once loved so much. They took one another's hands, watching as the blond man shoved his fingers into the woman's corpse, digging blood out to write over the second word. This time, he wrote that she was next. At least, next on his list.

The pair of spirits turn to one another, knowing they wouldn't be powerful enough to stop the man, but they would get a message to their daughter.

The man stumbles, almost giddily from the room, wandering back down the stairs. The sun is still shining brightly outside the windows and he somehow finds the bathroom, where he strips the bloody clothes off, washing them before moving into the small tiled room to clean himself.

"Ha! Strawberries and cream." He purrs. It only takes him an hour to wash the blood from his body and clothes. As he's about to leave the small room, he sees the hampers of clothes. One has the girl's name on it. He shoves it open and smiles to himself. He pulls every small bit of cloth he can from the small basket before wandering to the front door, where he unlocks it and leaves it just slightly open. Then he's back in her room, gathering his small bounty into a bag he's managed to find. He smiles towards the window, looking at the tree just waiting for him to climb into it, but he moves himself into the closet, the door ajar just enough that he could see out, without being seen himself.

He sits there, waiting for a couple of hours, his weapon once again clenched in his fist as the sound of the door opening echoes through the home. He hears the girl talking, perhaps she's brought one of her friend's home, and wouldn't that just be wonderful. His lips twitch, imagining the feel of her under him, dying just as her mother had.

Her voice stops, just as suddenly as it had begun, and footsteps are suddenly moving towards the room. He starts to pant slightly, just the idea of having a new plaything making his mind and heart race. The footsteps stop at the door, which slowly opens and the light flickers on. The girl stands there, frozen in the light. She's paler than he remembers and her hair is brighter, and longer than he thought, against the red of her sweater. Only her face, hands and a little bit of her legs are showing, enticing and exciting him in a way he's not quite used to. Of the women he's killed, he's rarely wanted to tie them up and cut their clothes off. The girl's eyes are focused on the wall and something in the pit of his stomach wishes she can read all of the words.

As the girl's gaze falls on the woman, she starts to scream, sending a tremendous thrill throughout his body. He starts to lean forward, the urge to attack her and finish his little game pounding through his veins, almost shoving him out of the small closet. Until a tall, pale man grabs the girl from the doorway, leading her down the stairs and out of the building. He takes their lead and moves to the window, easily opening it, jumping onto the branch of the tree, and closing the pane of glass before quickly making his way down from the tree and over the fence. He roams around the alleyways between the houses as sirens start to blast towards the place he's just left. The man looks back for a couple of moments before smirking and continuing his retreat, his heart racing at the idea of seeing the girl again.

* * *

My entire body jerks from the couch, tears racing down my face as a scream gets caught in my throat. There's a small creature sitting on my leg, looking at me with big eyes. The room is dark, tinging the world a dark grey. I know I haven't been asleep long, despite Lin's spell, and somehow, my body feels a thousand times worse than it had before. My head hurts much less, though.

I push off of the furniture, heat quickly filling my cheeks as I wander in the direction of the familiar energy. Gently pushing the door to the bedroom open, I push into the room, quieter than I've ever done anything.

Moonlight streams through the window, illuminating the male form in the large bed. He's turned away from me, so all I can see is the paleness of his toned arm. The sound of his breathing is deep, and fills the room leaving me shivering as if he's breathing right on my neck. Leaning over, I shove the skirt and footless tights off of my body, letting the fabrics take my socks with them. My arms quickly pull out of the sleeves of my sweater while pushing the rest of the material over my head.

Taking a deep breath, I pull the blanket slightly to the side, my body shaking from the memory of everything. Pushing under the covers, I place them back in place while at the same time, shimmying my way to press myself gently against the man's back. He might be upset in the morning, but I don't think I'd survive the night alone. Just the idea nearly sends me into a fit. My tongue wanders over the small cut on the inside of my lip as my cheek presses against the smoothness of the man's skin. The warmth of his body instantly heats my entire body up, and I can't stop myself from curling closer. Until, the man in question starts to pull away, rolling from the one side to the other. An arm quickly pulls me closer, wrapping around my waist, pinning the lower half of my body against his body, while a thick, masculine thigh pushes between mine. My arms become trapped against his chest, as he traps my head just beneath his chin and his not yet accounted for hand moves to rest against the small of my back, finger tips sliding just under the fabric I've left on my body.

I'm stunned for a few moments, but the comfort from the arms around me, the sound of his breathing and heartbeat, quickly lull me back into a deep slumber. This one is blissfully empty of dreams and murders of loved ones.


	22. Chapter 22: A Date!

**Warning it could get a little intense here.**

* * *

Light streams in, blinding me slightly, even though my eyes are firmly shut. There's a slight squeeze around my waist, pulling me tighter against a broad chest and body. My body shifts just a tad, sliding my knee closer to the head of the bed and the body behind me shifts as well. The arm around my waist moves to be trapped beneath my arm that's thrown itself across the bed, and a masculine thigh presses against the back of my own. Breath plays across my hair as something nuzzles in against the top of my head and a pair of hips presses in against my bottom, with something thick and solid pressing even closer.

For a moment, the world seems peaceful, and I don't remember everything that's happened. My eyes slowly slip open, and the first thing I see, is the dark bruise encircling my wrist. My lips press tightly together as a sensory memory quickly shoots through my body and I fight the sudden need in my stomach to run away. As I lay there, shivering in the arms of a man who's saved my life several times, his hand, trapped beneath my own arm, carefully moves to intertwine it's digits with mine.

"You should be careful when you wander into a man's bed." A deep voice whispers before a pair of lips press against the flesh just behind my ear.

"I didn't want to be alone…" I whisper, turning towards the man behind me as he starts to kiss down to the nape of my neck.

"Yamatoku-san, it is getting harder and harder to control myself around you." His voice calls, but he can't possibly be speaking because he's nibbling against my shoulder, his entire body moving to hover above me as I roll over onto my back. Knees press lightly against my sides as a large pair of gentle hands wanders over the skin of my arms.

"Lin," I whisper, lifting my hands to press them against his soft, warm cheeks. Large hands pass over my breasts before moving further down along my body to press gently against the outside of my thighs before lifting away from my skin to carefully pull my hands away from his face that is suddenly saddened.

"You should rest for a little longer while I go get Naru." He whispers, leaning down to kiss my forehead, much as Gene had not too long ago. "The bathroom is down the hall, if you want to take a shower." He crawls out of the bed, stopping only to look back and let his eyes wander for just a moment. I try very hard to keep my eyes on his bare shoulders, but my eyes quickly follow the curves of his naked back, only to stop at the lack of any cloth on the lower half of his body.

"Wh…Why aren't you wearing anything?!" I squeal, quickly covering my suddenly hot face.

"I wasn't expecting a bed partner." He chuckles, probably smirking. "Granted, you're not wearing much more than I am." The man purrs, moving across the room.

"I… I couldn't find my bag!" I whine slightly, one of my hands moving to try and pull the covers back over my nearly naked body.

"You never answered my question." The male sighs from the other side of the bed. I can feel his gaze wandering over my body. Then the bed dips slightly and before I can react, there's a gentle hand clasped against my inner thigh, wandering up along my skin as if exploring new territory. "What all did that thing do to you in that bathroom?" His voice sighs from right next to me, closer than I had thought.

"Things." I whisper, carefully moving my hands so that the only thing I can see is his face.

"What kind of things?" He whispers again, leaning a bit closer as his hand suddenly presses against my pelvis, his thumb pressing against the line of my leg joint. His free hand moves under my neck to tilt my face away from him to give him the access he needs to flick his tongue gently against my jawline. I turn my head away from the man as I try to pull out of his grasp, only to fall back into place as two of his fingers press in against the fabric protecting me from the invading fingers. "Tell me, so I know how to show you how it's supposed to feel…" He whispers against my jaw.

I turned back towards the man, with heat filling my stomach I stare into his mismatched eyes as he holds me in place. Biting gently at my lower lip, I don't notice the smirk playing across his lips. Then, those fingers between my legs begin to stroke against the thin layer of fabric in small circles, passing over a spot that sends my body writhing for several reasons. "Th…That spot…" I manage to squeak out, my hands managing to move to grip gently at the man's forearm.

"This one?" He groans quietly, his fingers pressing back against the spot in a way that leaves me gasping. "Does it feel good?" His voice echoes against my throat, his hips pressing in against my thigh.

"L…Lin!" My grip on his arm tightens as his digits start to move against that spot in quick, almost never ending swirls, sending my toes curling against the sheets.

"Do you want more?" He groans again, his hand slipping from between my legs. Once again, he's hovering over me, smiling gently, "I won't do anymore, unless you ask for it." A hand comes to rest on my cheek, thumb stroking gently just under my eye.

Staring up at those earnest eyes, I fought the urges coursing through my lower half, pushing myself up to press my lips against his. "I'm not ready yet…" A shaky reply escapes me as he pulls back just a bit before wrapping his arms tightly around me, pulling me in against his bare chest. My gaze wanders to the man's chin as something presses against my stomach,

"I put your bag in the bathroom. Why don't you go on and get cleaned up?" He chuckles, gently running his fingers through my hair.

Smiling in return, I somehow manage to crawl out from under the man and flee the room without seeing every inch of the man. I rush down the hall, stopping only when I come to a stop in the living room. One of the little imps running around the room stops right in front of me, staring up at me curiously. "I…Didn't catch which room is the bathroom…" I sigh, looking down at the little creature. The little being's reaction is to point at the door to my right. "Thanks."

Pushing the door open, I find my bag sitting on the floor. A frown plays across my lips at the images that quickly fill my mind. Some items are definitely missing, leaving me reeling at the dementedness of the man of the train. Unzipping the bag, I push it open and pull out a pair of blue jeans and a blue green shirt with long sleeves, and just as expected, I find no underwear. Not even a bra. "How did he manage to take all of them?"

I stand up, and turn towards the small counter, which has a large mirror along the wall. The room is plain, much like the rest of the apartment. The girl standing in the mirror stares back at me; her blue-grey eyes wander across my pale skin as mine wander hers. The worse bruises are from the spirit, but they're no longer black against my skin. The ones from my mother are practically invisible now, but the ones on my wrists, knees and thighs are now a dark purple surrounded by light red. The spots on my neck have become pin points; I could probably even get away with wearing something that shows off the neck. The girl's chest leaves much to be desired, probably only an a-cup, but her ribs no longer seem to poke out.

Stripping the undergarments off, I push into the small shower room, and look around for a moment before I remember that I don't have my soap and shampoo. That is, until my eyes land on a couple of bottles of the brand of cleaning products I use, even the exact scents. I can hear the movement of someone outside of the small grouping of rooms, even his voice as he talks to someone on the phone. Soon, everything is drowned out by running water and the smell of sweet strawberries quickly fills the room. As water runs down along my skin, I quickly lose track of time.

Soon, I'm as clean as I can get with just a shower. I have to hunt through the bag of my belongings, only to be disappointed at the lack of a towel. Searching the small room, I find a temporary replacement and wrap it around my body, frowning slightly as it only covers the area from just under my underarms, to a few inches past my hip joints. Throwing my dirty underwear into the bag, I sigh at the thought of having to go without clean ones and grab my clothes. I slip out of the small group of rooms; voices come from the living room, drawing me in that direction.

"This place seems very you." A deep, kind voice chuckles, just as I move through the doorway of the hall.

I freeze at the sight of two men. Lin is sitting in a lounge chair, a pair of dark brown slacks with a white button-up, tie, and a pair of black socks. On the couch is a man with long, honey-brown hair falling past his shoulders. I can't see what he's wearing, but I don't really need to, to know that it's the monk. The urge to run is strong, but my legs don't seem to want to move.

Lin has noticed me and his face is turning bright red. The male on the couch notices instantly and starts to turn around to see what has caught the onmyoji's attention. The moment his eyes lock onto me, my entire body starts to throb as if my heart's become a thousand times bigger. I remember the feel of his breath across my skin, sending thrills down along my spine. Those kind, brown eyes slowly start to wander from my face to the towel that barely covers me. Heat fills those gentle eyes, which sends a thrill of fear and excitement through my stomach.

"I…I was just wondering if there was a bigger towel I could borrow…" I somehow manage to stutter out, my arms moving to wrap around my stomach.

"You know, wet and naked is a good look for you." The monk chuckles, a knowing smile playing across his features. "What do you think, Lin?" The man turns back towards the onmyoji, as if he thinks we've done more than we have.

Swallowing the terror, I quickly run down the hall and hide in the familiar room. It only takes me a few minutes to pull the clothes on and stare at my reflection once again. The pants fit slightly loose from my waist to my knees where they flair out, and the shirt fits tight against my skin, sleeves covering half my palms as the collar circles under my clavicles.

"I wonder if this is too revealing…" I whisper, chewing slightly at the pad of my thumb. I wrap the towel that had just been around my body, around the hair that's fallen in wet rivulets around my shoulders. Gathering the clothes I had left on the floor the night before, I wander out of the room, once again to the bathroom, to throw the clothes into the bag that's been left on the floor. And since I'm here, I pull out a pair of socks, before walking back to the living room.

"Welcome back, Momiji." A voice chuckles from the wall right next to the hallway's entrance. Jumping nearly ten feet into the air, I turn and hold my hands up in a pair of small fists, expecting some kind of attack. "Whoa, calm down." The monk calls, holding his hands up in surrender, despite the fact he could easily take me down.

"Why are you here?" I question, moving to curl up in the now empty chair in the room. Houshou moves to sit himself back on the couch, giving me a perfect view of him. He's wearing a royal purple button up with the first few buttons undone, showing of a rather nicely tanned chest, and a pair of black slacks, the clothes look more expensive than anything I've ever owned. His hair falls loose around his shoulders, once again making him look more like a rock star than a monk.

"Lin asked me to watch over you while he goes to get Naru." He answers, smiling devilishly. "Didn't think I'd get that nice of a treat though."

"Obviously. About that arrangement…" I whisper, pulling my legs up to press against my chest. "I think it's null, now that mother and father are gone." Somehow I manage to say, resting the lower half of my face against my knees, staring curiously at the man in front of me.

"Pardon?" His features instantly tighten, a serious look playing in his eyes.

"Mother and Father died yesterday." I sigh, my fingertips tightening against my calves. "So, any arrangements between them and your father should be void unless there was paperwork involved. Which, I don't think there was."

"You really don't want to get married, do you?" He sighs, one of his large hands moving to the side of his head, his fingers hiding within his honey-brown locks. "Is Lin really that good in bed?" He whispers almost bitterly.

"I wouldn't know." I stare pointedly at the man, my fists shaking slightly as anger plays in my stomach. "Besides, after today, I don't plan on seeing anyone from your little group. Except for Mai, at school." Biting at my lip, my gaze wanders to watch as a small imp runs across the table, acting like one of the biggest goofs in the world.

"And why is that?" He whispers, sounding closer than before. Before I have the chance to answer, hands come to rest on either side of the chair behind me, a face quickly closing in to press a set of soft, gentle lips against my own. My eyes open wide while my hands move to push against the man's chest. I try to turn my head away, but one of the hands quickly moves to the back of my head, holding me in place. Something slick presses against my lower lip, trying to shove its way past my lips.

One of my fists pulls back to smack at the male's chest, but it doesn't seem to have any effect. My body is easily lifted, and I quickly find myself pinned against the cushions of the couch. My lips have been released as the man starts to kiss down my neck; one of his arms trapping my own above my head, pushing against my elbows to keep them in place. A large hand comes to a stop on one of my breasts, squeezing at the mound as a groan vibrates against my neck.

"H…Houshou! Please… Stop!" I somehow manage to whimper out as that large hand slides underneath my shirt, recapturing the mound of flesh. A fingertip passes over my nipple, creating a small pool of heat in my stomach.

"I can't… You're my fiancé, damn it." He growls against my throat, easily pushing my shirt up to expose my chest. "Arranged or not, I won't let another man take you." He pulls away from my neck and quickly moves to my chest, his lips finding my other nipple while he uses his legs to push mine apart, pressing himself against me.

"This… Isn't you…!" I manage to cry out, writhing beneath the man as his tongue presses against the sensitive flesh on one side of my chest while his fingers roll around the other. Heat stings behind my eyes as small tears quickly fall towards my hairline and even more heat fills my stomach.

The man slowly pulls back, softness filling his eyes once again, his fingertips slowly wandering down along my stomach. "Tell me why you're not wearing a bra." His voice, empty of emotions, pipes up, his hands coming to rest on my hips while my arms quickly move to push the fabric of my shirt back into place.

"Somebody stole all of my underwear." I answer, my hands moving to push at his almost immobile hands.

"You're not trying to seduce Lin?" He stares down at me incredulously, his fingers pressing in against the sides of my hips.

"Not intentionally." I sigh, pushing those hands of his off of my hips. As I pull away, moving over to curl up on the opposite end of the furniture, watching him with a skeptic gaze. At least, until a strange fog shoots out of his back and through the nearest window.

"What was…?" The monk whispers, his hand moving to the side of his head, as if the placement will bring back the memory of what he was doing. "Momiji, where are we?"

"Lin's apartment…" I answer, shaking slightly.

"How did I get here? Last thing I remember was answering a call from Lin; I was on my way to burn the last of the hitogata when the world just… disappeared…"

"I… Think you were possessed…" I sigh, turning towards the man who seems to be in shock.

"Wha—How? What… Did I do?" He asks, more serious and full of regret than I've ever heard him.

"You… pinned me on the couch…" I whisper, doubt playing in my chest. "You said you weren't going to let another man have me… I don't know why my telling you the arrangement is null set you off." My body shakes for a moment as I watch his features darken a little.

"What if I don't want to call it off? What if I want to try and woo you?" He whispers, a small pout playing across his lips, contrasting wildly with his clothes.

"You don't. Not really. I have a feeling there's a spirit playing with your emotions." I look the man over for a moment, fingers wrapping around my elbows. "From what I saw, you seemed to be interested in the Miko."

He gasps a little, almost like he hasn't expected anyone to notice. "What do you mean? With that woman?" He slowly moves closer, sending a thrill of fear rushing to the pit of my stomach. The urge to run courses through my entire body, but like before, I feel like I'm frozen in place. Then strong, warm arms gently wrap around me and pull me into a tight hug. His body is trembling around me, while he presses his face in against my neck. "Momiji… If it's alright, I would like to apologize." He whispers, nuzzling closer against my neck.

"Takigawa…" I shiver, my hands pushing against his chest, my mind flashing on the heat from his hands and lips. Trying to push him away, his lips press against the flesh of my neck, freezing me in place for what has to be the millionth time.

"Just this… I want just this little bit before I give up. I'll talk to Chidori and Minase. I'm sure if I talk it over with them, they'll call off the engagement." He whispers, gently guiding me to lie against the couch once again. He hovers over me for a moment with a gentleness that reminds me of Uncle Ken.

"I don't think…" I start, but his lips quickly envelop my own. One of his hands slowly presses against my cheek, gently swiping some of the hair that's plastered itself against my cheek. I watch him for a moment, looking for the malicious intent that I've come to expect, only to find none. Something wet presses against my lower lip, soft and quick, while the man above me gently runs his free hand up along my side, stopping for a moment just under my shoulder joint as if looking for something, then moving along my arm to softly intertwine it's fingers with my own.

I quickly turn my head away from the man, which gives him a full view of my quickly healing neck. The lips that have suddenly been freed quickly move to press against my neck, kissing gently along the flesh until the man comes to my ear. His gently nips at my earlobe before he works his way back down and starts to suckle at the flesh of my neck. "Takigawa!" I try, my mind quickly flashing on a pair of cold eyes surrounded by blond hair. So many emotions fill my stomach, and the tears that I had thought I'd cried to extinction last night quickly start to fall once again. My free hand quickly moves to push at the man's chest once again, but it slips against the material of his shirt. In frustration, I entangle my fingers in his hair, pressing lightly against one side of his head as the images of my parents bodies rush through my mind in extreme and vivid flashbacks.

Then the monk is screaming and jumping off of me, as if I've burned him. I can't think of anything except the woman who raised me, and my body quickly curls up into a ball. The Monk on the other end of the couch curses with what sounds like tears playing in his throat.

"Those images… How did you…? Wait, they're dead?" He whispers, his arms suddenly wrapped around his torso as if he was suddenly enveloped by a cold pocket of air.

"I… Looked the wrong person in the eye." I whimper, trembling as I press my face against the material of the couch. "Didn't Lin tell you that on the phone?"

"The only thing I remember is the phone ringing and hearing Lin on the line." The monk sighs shakily, pushing off of the couch. "I don't understand… How could I get possessed?"

"From what I've read, it can happen to anyone. After all of the prayers and exorcisms you've been doing, I'm sure your guard was lowered." I whisper, carefully pushing myself into a sitting position, once again cowering on the couch with a bunch of little imps looking on in curiosity.

"I'm… Sorry Momiji." The monk whispers, pacing around the small living room. "For everything."

"Houshou…" I whisper, gently running my hand along my forearm. "I don't think… That I'm going to be amongst the living too much longer…" I can feel tears starting to well up in my eyes once again. "Between the spirit the hitogata summoned and the man that killed my parents while looking for me…" I trail off as a few tears fall down my cheeks.

"You're going to be fine. There's no way you'll get hurt as long as Lin and I are around." He exclaims.

"You were possessed by a spirit that's been molesting me for days…" I whisper, "You pinned me to the couch, and tried to… And this man… He found my home, killed my parents and…"

"We just have to get rid of your hitogata, Momiji, everything will be okay. I promise." He calls gently from a few feet away, as if he doesn't trust my hands or himself.

Then the sound of the door to the apartment opens and slams closed. The two of us jump and stare in the direction of the sound as Lin walks into the room, pulling the top button of his shirt open. He's mumbling something about doctors being completely useless, until he stops to look at the two of us.

"What the hell happened while I was gone?" He asks, focusing intently on my face for a moment then looking towards the monk that's standing several feet away.

"Momiji, does he know about that?" The monk asks, a small thread of fear playing through his voice.

"No…" I whisper, wiping at the tears that have fallen down my face.

"You mean your engagement?" Lin asks, looking between the two of us, leaving us staring at him like he's grown a second head. "Chidori told me about it yesterday before we left to visit Naru in the hospital."

"And yet, you still made a move on someone else's fiancé." Houshou mumbles.

The air becomes almost electric and frigid, and something swirls behind the taller man.

"H…How's Naru?" I ask, hoping it'll break the tension.

"He has to stay in the hospital for another day. He wants Houshou to keep looking for the extra hitogata. And as for your situation, you can stay with us until the police are done processing your home." The tall man answers, his gaze lingering on my lips.

"Right. I'll get right to it. There's at least one left…" Houshou sighs, quickly moving towards the taller male to try and exit the living quarters. "But I'm not giving her up without a fight." He calls behind him, the sound of the door closing quickly following his words.

"What happened?" The tall man asks, moving through the room to fall onto the couch with an exasperated sigh.

"I think the Monk was possessed." I whisper, hugging my knees tightly against my chest.

There's silence from the man as many of the imps run about, a few here and there reenacting what happened. My tongue slides over the small wound on the inside of my lip as the pit of my stomach hollows out.

"How about we go on a date?" The man whispers and when I look towards him there's a gentle smile on his face.


	23. Chapter 23: That Woman

I go through the bags in the bathroom, looking for a jacket to try and hide the fact that I have practically nothing under my clothes. I manage to find a half jacket that stops just under my ribs while the sleeves end just before my fingertips. Wandering out of the room, I find Lin waiting at the door, watching the small imps running around.

"Sorry for the wait." I whisper, carefully pulling my sneakers on.

"There's no need to apologize." He sighs, staring back into the apartment.

"Lin…" I whisper, tying my shoes faster than I've ever tied them in my life.

Before I can say anything else, the man in question easily pulls me to my feet, and starts to drag me from the apartment. I stare at our hands as he walks ahead of me. With a small smile, I happily follow the man as he leads me down along the bustling streets. Every now and then, I glance towards the people running about, and something in my chest flutters. How can the world keep going like nothing bad has been happening? I know there've been at least three murders and a few terrible accidents.

"People don't tend to notice things unless they're personally affected." The man in front of me answers an unasked question.

"Did I say that out loud?" I look up at his profile as he stares back at me through a small veil of hair.

"No. But the look on your face was pretty obvious." He replies, continuing to pull me along.

"Where are we going?" I whisper, tripping over my own feet a couple of times as I try to keep up with the much taller man.

"We're going to a shopping center. If I remember, you're missing some clothing items. I'm not really sure what, but we can replace some of them." He replies flatly, and my entire face starts to go bright red.

"That's… I can do that on my own. Besides, if I hadn't been out with your group, I would probably be dead right now." I sigh, staring at the ground as we move along.

For what feels like an hour, we walk in silence as a cool breeze here and there gently blows a bit of water into my face. Tilting my head back, a few more droplets land on my cheek before I a strong tug at my arm pulls me towards cover.

"I guess we're coming up on the rainy season soon." I whisper as the world is suddenly plunged into a downpour.

"Indeed." The man next to me sighs, gently squeezing my hand.

"My, what a cute couple." A woman's voice calls from behind us. I turn to see an older woman smiling towards us. Her hair has gone grey, but the smile on her face makes her seem younger. She wears a purple shirt that matches her lipstick and a white skirt. Around her neck is a bright yellow scarf. My mind quickly flashes back to the strange image in my mind of a woman surrounded by yellow and red.

"We're not…" I start, but stop once the woman gently pulls my free hand towards her, staring intently at my palm.

"I see… Something draws others to you. You're a very loved young woman, but that can lead to danger. Danger to both you, and those around you. You should be extra careful in the coming days, someone wishes you great harm." She speaks gently, sending shivers through my entire body at the memory of blood on walls and legs swinging back and forth on an invisible wind.

"You should be careful as well." I reply, unsure of how to tell a woman I've never met that she's probably going to die soon.

"Good luck to the both of you." She smiles, turning away and walking off, as if such an interaction was commonplace for her.

"What is it?" Lin asks, staring down at me then after the woman.

"I think she's going to die soon…" I whisper, balling one hand into a fist while gently squeezing at the man's hand.

The woman turns a corner, and a dark shadow follows her. My stomach suddenly feels as if it's been ripped out of my body, and I can't stop my body from propelling itself towards the corner. I can't feel a hand in mine anymore, and someone's shouting my name, but my body keeps moving. I quickly turn the corner and catch a glimpse of yellow at the other end of the street, starting to walk down a set of stairs towards the subway system. The world around me is getting darker, and as I hurry to follow her the sound of people slowly dies away.

I'm sprinting down the steps as carefully as I can, and only stop to pay for a ticket. I somehow find myself between train cars, watching the woman through the window of the door that leads into the car. I don't know what I can do, but I know that I can't leave this woman's side, even if she doesn't know I'm there.


	24. Chapter 24: Not This Again!

I know it's only been a few minutes, and I'm honestly surprised that Lin hadn't been able to stop me, but it feels like I've been staring at this woman sitting and reading on a train for hours.

Gently pressing my head against the wall, my body gently starts to relax. I start to wonder if perhaps I overreacted. At least until I hear her voice.

"Is there something you want?" I hear her say. Then a man's voice whispers. My eyes shoot open and I shove through the metal door. Before I can get close enough, I see a hand coming towards me. The pain catches me off guard, and the force sends me into one of the hand rails.

For a moment I'm too stunned to move as I recognize the man with blond hair. I want to shout at the woman to run for her life, but my mouth doesn't seem to want to work. The man is on her in seconds, wrapping his hands tightly around her throat, and dragging her to the ground. I reach out, moving slowly as pain throbs through my head. As my hand lands on the man's wrist, a cold breeze passes over me.

There's a whisper in my ear, telling me I'm lucky that the curse is gone. Fighting against the darkness that's trying to pull me into unconsciousness, I try to pull the man's hand off of the woman, only for him to easily swipe my hand away and his leg to easily shoot out and connect with my stomach. As the air is knocked out of my, I stare sadly at the woman. The light slowly leaves her eyes as darkness overtakes my own vision.

I quickly find myself surrounded by small balls of light and darkness, and for a moment, I think, perhaps I've finally died.

"You really get yourself in a lot of trouble, don't you?" I hear Eugene's voice call.

"I really do." I sigh, glaring into the darkness. "With my luck, he'll kill me while I'm asleep." I grumble, looking around for some way to wake myself up.

"You wouldn't have been able to save that woman, you know." He whispers, easily moving behind me to rest his hands on my shoulders.

"I might have. If I wasn't so damn weak.." I grumble, fighting the tears that threatened to fall.

"Momiji…" He whispers, gently wrapping his arms around me. "They'll never forgive me if you end up dying. I'll never forgive me." He continues, pressing his face in against my shoulder.

"Then you should find a way to tell Mai. I know she sees you in her dreams. Tell her to tell Naru or Lin to go talk to that detective that he's got me." I shake him off as I start to slap my cheeks.

"Do you know why he killed those women?" Gene calls, crossing his arms across his chest. "Because they sat in his seat. Don't make him any angrier when you wake up." His voice calls, but it's like a whisper as my mind slowly comes to.

I'm lying on something soft and the soft pitter patter of rain easily catches my attention. My head throbs as I try to turn; only my body won't turn over completely. There's a warm body pressing against me and a large hand wandering from my wrist, along my arm then down my side.

"Evening, little lady." A deep voice purrs from in front of me as the hand hesitates at my waist before moving under my shirt to press against my skin.

My eyes open slowly, and I'm left staring into a pair of eyes. Trying to pull away, I fall back against the softness and quickly find myself pinned beneath the man, who has somehow managed to get between my legs. "Get… Get off of me!" I shout, trying to move my arms only for them to pull against something wrapped tightly around my wrists.

"I don't think I will. You've gotten away from me a couple of times already; do you know how exciting that makes this?" He purrs again, leaning down to stare intently at me while one of his hands moves to hold my chin in place. "I'm going to play with you for a while…"

I try to scream, but his lips crash onto mine, instantly silencing me. He uses his fingers against my jaw to keep me from clamping it shut as his tongue quickly infiltrates my mouth. His free hand easily moves up along my stomach before taking a gentle hold of one of my breasts, his thumb passing over my nipple. A shiver quickly runs through my body as he roughly starts to knead at the mound of flesh.

Before long, he pulls away, a smile playing across his lips as I'm left gasping for air. "Someone is rather sweet. Almost like strawberries." He whispers, taking his hands off of me to rip my shirt open, the tear of the cloth sending an all too familiar thrill of terror through my stomach. Holding in the scream, I glare at the man for a minute before looking away; I know what he plans on doing, but that doesn't mean I have to watch him do it.


	25. Chapter 25: Not Much Longer

**Warning! There may be a situation and some violence. Enjoy!**

* * *

Wheezing slightly, I curl up into as tight a ball as I can amongst the sheets. My clothes have long since disappeared. The smell of smoke wafts from nearby, and I fight not to cough.

"I'm rather impressed…" A deep voice chuckles from where the smoke is coming from. "Most women would be broken by now, hell most men too."

I don't answer, I know it'll just lead to trouble. The sound of rain taps against a window somewhere, sending a surge through my lower half. Footsteps start to come close and I tense up for what's to come.

A hand roughly pushes me down against the bed while a body quickly climbs on top of me. With the front of my body shoved against the linen, my arms are pulled backwards while my wrists are tied together. I try my best but I know that he sees the wince as he leans over me.

"It's been over three and a half days… Should I finally make a woman out of you?" He chuckles, easily grabbing a handful of hair to pull my head back. His lips press against the nape of my neck for a few moments before he digs his teeth into my skin. I let out a raspy cry of pain as his hands quickly move around to the front of my body to grab hold of my breasts.

He quickly releases my body and lets me fall onto the mattress, pressing his hips in against my bottom as he hovers over me with a cruel smirk.

"W…Why haven't you killed me yet?" I manage to choke out, pulling slightly at the ropes that are holding my wrists in place. I can't remember the last time I ate or had something to drink, and my body has been feeling heavier and heavier. It's almost enough to make me wish he'd just choked me to death.

"I wanted to see how much you could take." He whispers, pulling my hips off of the bed while pinning my head down with one of his large hands. "Maybe I'll give you a treat after this… Since you've been such a good girl."

There's another hand slowly sliding down along my side, sending goosebumps across my entire body. I bite my lower lip to keep from screaming out as the hand comes to rest between my legs, stroking along my inner thigh, threatening to press somewhere sensitive. "But, the others…"

"Couldn't tell what I am just by looking." He purrs, pressing his teeth against the outer rim of my ear before resting his hand against my opening. His middle finger slides along my folds as I try to writhe out of his grasp. Shifting, his face presses in against the back of my head, while his finger lightly probes the sensitive flesh. "Besides, they were in my seat."

"And how… How many people do you think have been in it since you stopped going?" I whine quietly, trying to pull my hips away from his hand, only to press back against him.

"Point. I'll go tonight, but not before I have a little fun." He sighs, grinding his hips in against my bottom. "Your natural scent is much better than that shampoo. Drives me wild."

Before I have a chance to say anything, he starts to move his fingers in circles against a spot I didn't want anyone to touch ever again. The movements send my legs into uncontrollable twitches and I can't move to escape. After a few minutes, I'm left panting against the sheets with small tears falling down my cheeks as the man looms behind me. Zipping sounds behind me and my knees start to push my body forward, only for a pair of hands on my hips to stop me. I can hear myself starting to beg for mercy, but it sounds far away, and the laughter of the man as he presses a solid mass against my opening sends my mind into full panic mode.

"Please, no!" I cry out, trying to push away with only my legs.

"Quiet down, you'll enjoy it if you just relax a bit." His voice whispers as that mass of flesh presses inside of me. For a moment, it reminds me of the spirit's attack. At least, until the pain truly rips through my entire body. With the spirit, it had only hurt a little bit, but it feels like I'm about to be ripped in half. I try to scream, but I can't get enough air into my lungs. The man behind me curses quietly as he begins to thrust as deep as he can, stealing what little air I have left.

After a few seconds, I finally manage to take in a large breath and start to scream out, or try to. My throat's so raw from screaming for mercy the last few days and not drinking any water that they come out as squeaks, which seems to please the man as he leans down and starts to bite at my shoulders. With each thrust forward of the man's hips, I find myself falling into the mattress. Burying my face against the material, the sound of rain and flesh sliding against flesh renews that surge from earlier.

My arms are roughly yanked backwards, pulling my upper body off of the bed beneath me, and I try to look for a window to try and see what time of day it is, but all I see is darkened objects in a room with little light. As I look around, a sharp sting and loud noise echo throughout the room and my body.

I suppose my mind finally breaks, because I start screaming, and even though my throat is so raw and sore, I scream the name of the person that's been keeping me safe for the last few days. I scream his name over and over, begging for him to come save me. The man behind me quickly pushes me into the linens once more, flipping me onto my back so I can see the smile that's spread across his face. That smile is so full of pure joy that it sends a thrill of terror down my spine and my stomach suddenly feels full, despite the lack of nourishment.

"You finally broke…" He purrs, leaning down to stare deeply into my eyes. I feel the fear fill my eyes, as a pair of hands quickly shove my legs apart and that solid mass from before shoves it's way even deeper inside of me than it had before, leaving me gasping for air once again. Then those hands wrap around my throat, tightening their grip until I can't even get a molecule of air in. The man continues his thrusts, getting faster and faster as he stares down at me. My field of vision starts to go dark as I hear the man hovering over me let out a long groan filled with profanities. His hold on my throat tightens even more as he thrusts forward a few more times.

And the only thought going through my mind, as something inside me instantly relaxes and the liquid I've been holding in quickly releases itself, is that I probably won't be alive much longer.


	26. Chapter 26: I'm Alive?

My eyes flutter open and I expect to find the darkness filled with orbs, only to see a white ceiling. There's a slow beeping and a bright light coming from somewhere nearby. There are soft voices arguing back and forth, voices that sound familiar.

I slowly start to sit up, wincing slightly at the pain in my elbow and throat. But, nothing hurts quite as much as my stomach.

Once I'm fully up, the voices stop and everyone turns towards me.

"Momiji!" Two voices call in unison, as two young teenagers quickly run over and fall onto the bed I'm in, their arms wrapping lightly around my waist as they nuzzle their faces in against my sides to hide the fact that they're crying.

"Daisuke? Mika?" I somehow manage to hoarsely whisper.

"You probably shouldn't try to talk yet. The fact that you're alive right now is a miracle. That psychopath nearly crushed your larynx." A familiarly obnoxious tone of voice calls from a few feet away.

"Senpai!" I hear another voice call and a young girl with a chestnut brown bob falls across the bed, crying her eyes out. "I'm so glad you're alright!"

"Gentle, Mai. The poor girl's just woken up." A heavily accented voice calls from across the room. I look towards the voice to find the blond priest, though he's out of his robes, standing next to the priestess, the celebrity medium, and Houshou.

"Where?" I start, only to fall into a coughing fit. Mika is the first to react and she quickly finds me a glass of water. The moment she hands it to me, I start to chug it like I've never had a sip of water in my life.

"You're in the hospital. You were barely alive when they found you!" Mika answers, tears quickly filling her eyes as they wandered to my neck for a split second.

"Severe dehydration, multiple lacerations, nearly starving, barely breathing. That was just the start of it. You've got probably one of the worst concussions they've ever had to deal with." A slightly smug voice speaks up from the foot of the bed.

"How…?" I try, though my throat hurts even more now that I've had some water. I look at the empty glass in my hands and start to move towards the pitcher when Mika takes the glass and refills it.

"Mai said she had a dream that you were in serious danger and a general area for where you were located." Naru answers, resting a hand on the railing of the hospital bed.

There's a knock at the door, and everyone turns towards the sound. After a few seconds, the door opens and a set of twins and two tall men enter the already crowded room. Once I see Lin, something inside of me instantly relaxes and I take a few sips of the water once again in my hands.

The twins slowly make their way over to the small bed I'm in and stare down at me with unimaginable pity in their eyes. Blinking up at the two of them, I notice that the male twin seems almost as tired as before.

"Sleep well?" I whisper in what might be my new voice towards the young man with light green eyes.

He smiles gently, almost guiltily. "I'm sorry, Momiji-dono. If I'd just thought… I didn't know you were missing…" His shoulders are shaking and when I look around, everyone's staring at him. Some with pity, others with a slight look of anger.

I turn towards Daisuke, motioning for something to write with and on. He instantly produces a board and marker from a bag that's just out of sight. It only takes me a moment to quickly write out a response. 'It's not your fault. I was the idiot that went charging after someone in hopes of being a hero.'

"What do you mean?" The boy asks, looking confused.

"She chased after a woman with a yellow scarf. It was the woman in the papers around four days ago." Lin answers for me, his eyes never moving to look at me.

"Mirei's mother?" The young onmyoji asks, a small look of pain crossing his features as he turns towards the others.

"The older woman." The spectacled tall man adds, gently crossing his arms across his chest.

'I heard him talking to her… When I tried to help, he slapped me so hard I fell into one of the handrails.'

"Oh, gods." I can hear the female twin say, and the back of my head starts to throb slightly.

"Well, there's no need to worry about him anymore." The male twin sighs, his hand moving to his throat.

'Are you okay?' I quickly write for the younger onmyoji, who smiles down towards me.

"I'll be fine. One of the detectives was using Mirei to try and lure that man out. Last night he attacked her." He sighs, and before he can continue I'm staring in horror.

'Is she alright!?' I somehow manage to write.

"She'll be fine. She was saved by an old friend of hers. I was chasing him down to try and capture him, but he got the drop on me and… I don't remember much except not being able to breathe." The boy finishes, his gloved fingers gently rubbing at his neck.

'So, he's still out there?' I inquire as every emotion drains from my body. All except fear.

"No. When I came to, he was dead, though I don't know how it happened." He sighs, tilting his head towards the ground, using his wide brimmed hat to hide his face. And while he does so, I catch a mischievous glint in the bespectacled man's eyes, though I choose to ignore it for now.

"Detective Kono is going to be coming to speak with you. He's probably going to want to know what happened over the days that man had you." The female twin sighs, a frown quickly over taking her features. "After everything you've been through, you deserve a break."

'Thanks for the warning.' I smile, trying to laugh only to go into another coughing fit.

"By the way, Momiji? I haven't seen your mom in a while. Did she finally run away or something?" Daisuke asks, and my stomach quickly drops. There are tears in my eyes and I can't stop them from falling. Within seconds, there are six sets of eyes glaring daggers at the teenaged boy, who couldn't possibly know what's happened.

I try to stop the tears, but everything that's happened over the last week and a half instantly crashes over me, and all of the emotions are just pouring out of me and I can't stop them.

"What… Momiji, what's wrong?" He tries, reaching a hand towards me.

"The man killed both of her parents the day before he kidnapped, tortured her over the course of several days, and then tried to kill her." Lin says in a cold tone, the closest to truly angry I've ever seen him get. I can hear everyone's voices, all except for the tall man in glasses, as they stand there with closed mouths.

"On a side note, you'll make an almost full recovery!" Houshou calls from across the room, shrugging as if it was the best news in the world. Granted, it was probably the best I was going to get.

'Almost?' I hold the board up curiously.

"Well, psychologically speaking, I wouldn't be surprised if you became a crazed psycho yourself." Naru chuckles in a sarcastic tone, which I answer with a glare.

"I just meant that there are some things that take a while longer to heal. Like mental and emotional scars." The monk tries to fix, while a small bit of sweat starts to bead down his cheek.

"Not to mention the flashbacks she's going to be having from some of that torture." The tall man in spectacles interjects, leaving me glaring at him.

'So, when do you guys think I'll be able to leave?' I try, curious to see what everyone thinks.

"Not for at least a day or two." Naru beats everyone to the punch, a small frown playing across his face. "They have to get you stable before you can even think of leaving."

'Speaking from personal experience?' I smile a little cruelly, as everyone starts to chuckle.

"Hush you. Mild anemia and almost dying from starvation, dehydration and suffocation are completely different." He retorts.

'True.' I try to sigh, only to give out a couple of coughs. 'Thanks for trusting Mai's dream.'

"She was so adamant, and after that test we gave her, it was hard not to trust her." Naru smirks, looking at the girl laying across the bed with a grimace on her own face.

'Test…?' I glare at him, remembering some of the tests I had been put through as a kid.

"I've never seen anyone get a zero on one of those. It was rather impressive." The priestess chuckles, tucking some hair behind her ear. Mai is grumbling from the bed and I almost laugh.

Reaching up, I gently press my hand against the side of my head as a couple of images flash through my mind.

"You okay?" Mika asks, sitting next to me before gently pulling me in against her shoulder.

I nod slightly, letting my gaze wander towards the tall man with spectacles.

"I'm guessing that blockage you had is clearing up. Probably getting a lot of unpleasant visions." He says without speaking. I glare slightly, turning away for a moment to try and write only for pain to shoot through my head. I double over slightly, gripping tightly at the sides of my head.

"Don't bother. And there's no need to mention anything to anyone. Lucky thing they found you, considering I killed the only person that truly knew where you were."

Wincing, I take a couple of deep breaths as a couple of hands come to rest gently on my back. "Not like my dying would have mattered to you either way." I whisper with my own mind, glaring daggers at the sheets in front of me.

"True. But, you should know that if you get in my way, I'll kill you without a second thought." He easily returns, a gentle smile playing over his features.

"I'll remember that, Sakurazukamori." I glare slightly at him and nod to the pair of teenagers trying to comfort me.

"Momiji, if it's alright with you, once you're out of the hospital, I'd like to run a test." Naru's voice pipes up, and I instantly glare at him. "It's pretty straight forward, just push a button a few times. Only if you're alright with it, of course." He adds, as if remembering what had happened before.

'I'll think about it.' I write, a slight frown playing across my features.

Silence quickly fills the room. I look at each person in the room, and I know they all want to know everything that's happened. Then my eyes land on the tall, silent man standing in the corner, keeping his eyes averted. There's tightness around his eyes that I can instantly recognize. He's angry about something.

Another knock on the small room's door pulls everyone's attention towards it. I can hear the rough voice of the detective and the smoothness of a younger man before the door opens to reveal the pair.

"Well, Ms. Yamatoku… Aren't you popular." The older detective chides, looking at the massive amount of people in the room. "I assume you know why I'm here."

I nod, quickly building up the emotionless mask that I had lost not so long ago.

"I'll be taking your statements on a few things, then I'll let you get some more rest."

The groups of people around the room look at one another before all nodding and leaving the small room to give us privacy. As everyone's filing out, I make a quick movements and try to call out, but the pain in my throat and elbow stop me and have me doubled over in pain. Several of the people stop in the doorway, and when I can finally look up, as many are looking back as possible.

"Do you want someone to stay with you while we take your statement?" The detective asks, looking down at me with a gentle smile.

Nodding I quickly write down Lin's name. I can hear Naru chuckling quietly as he tells the older male to stay in the room while he corrals the rest of the group.

Lin slowly walks back into the room, pulling a chair next to the bed while the two police officers pull up a couple for themselves.

The questions they ask are fairly straight forward. They ask about the second victim I saw, what happened the day my parents died, why I chased after the third subway victim before she was even on the train. It wasn't until they got to the questions about what happened while that man held me prisoner that all of us begin to feel uncomfortable. I write out everything I can remember.

"The initial report says that you found her, sir. What can you tell us?" The officer turns towards Lin and I can feel my entire body freeze.

"I found her unconscious. I covered her up, called the police and an ambulance, and gave her some basic first aid." Lin says, his fists shaking slightly in his lap.

"How did you know where she was?" The officer inquires, looking between the two of us.

'You don't put much stock in psychics and paranormal activity, right?' I write faster than I've ever written anything in my life.

"I believe in Mirei." He answers, looking me dead in the eye.

"That young man with the green eyes and I have more in common than you'd think. I had one of my shikigami search for her energy, and lead me to her once he found her." Lin answers, staring the detective down as if he can bend the man to his will, and for all I know, he can.

"Alright. That's all we need. Yamatoku-san, I hope you make a quick recovery." He says as the two older gentlemen stand, carefully making their way from the room.

Bowing slightly, I wait until the door closes to turn towards the onmyoji.

'I'm sorry.' I hold the board right in the man's face, since he still refuses to look at me.

"There's nothing for you to be sorry about." He answers, staring at the foot of the bed.

'Then why won't you look at me?' I can feel tears starting to well up in the corners of my eyes.

"Because, I can't look at you… Without seeing your corpse." He answers. The machine that's been steadily beating slows for just a moment, and then continues its original pace.

"L…Lin? Wh…at?" I somehow manage to squeak out.

"You were dead when I found you." He whispers.

"Ho..w?" I croak quietly, moving towards him just slightly.

"I… forced some energy into your heart. I did it until it started beating again." He sighs, turning towards me with pain in his eyes.

I jump towards him, easily wrapping my arms around his neck and bury my face against his chest. He moves his arms around me, gently pulling me in against him. Trying to move closer, I almost fall out of the bed, but he easily catches me.

"I'm sorry we didn't get there sooner." He mumbles against the top of my head, his grip around me tightening as his hands tremble.

"Bl…ame… Naru…" I croak. A smile quickly spreads across my lips as I listen to the rumble of laughter bubbling in his chest.

The large onmyoji easily lifts me and places me back in the bed, his large hand gently moving down along my head, tangling within my hair before he kisses my forehead.

"Momiji, it's not my place, but if it's alright, I would like to keep in contact." He smiles gently, sitting back into the chair.

'I would like that. And thank you. Because of you, I'm alive.' I smile, holding the board up for him to see.

"Please don't thank me." He sighs, leaning forward to rest his head in his hands, his gaze lifting just slightly to look at my neck. "I didn't get there in time to save you. All I managed was to keep you alive."

'I used to wish I was dead. I made jokes, put myself in danger. But, I don't want my life to end like that. So, thank you.' I smile, looking past the man in front of me towards a window. I enjoy the view and for once, I'm truly thankful to be alive.


	27. Epilogue

I've been out of the hospital for about a week, but I've been on strict bed rest. Mika's mother had been kind enough to let me stay over at her place, and Mika's let me borrow some clothes, since mine are still at the onmyoji's apartment.

Mika said she wanted to treat me to something, and brought me to Shibuya. As the two of us are walking along, passing several large buildings and shops, I've caught at least ten boys looking at the two of us.

"Why are they… looking?" I whisper towards the raven haired girl beside me. I sense her turning, and by now I've gotten better at telling when someone's actually talking or not.

'Because there's a cutie in a frilly pink dress.' She thinks before her voice purrs. "It's probably those bandages. We know that they're to hide the bruises and cuts, but there are quite a few."

"They would stare… Even more, then." I reply, turning towards the girl beside me. "But… Maybe they're looking… at a certain girl… With big boobs." I chuckle, or try to. Talking has gotten a lot easier, but I don't think I'll be able to speak properly for a few more days or weeks.

"As if! Why would they look at a humble servant when there's such a lovely princess right here!" Mika giggles, gently wrapping her arm around my shoulders to steer me to the side. My eyes turn towards the large building that she's pulling me into, it's rather plain, even with a table or two scattered about outside of it.

"Where are we?" I whisper as she starts to lead me up the stairs. We're soon standing in front of a plain door that says something about psychic research, and she knocks on the frosted glass.

Within moments the door is pulled open and there's a young girl with chestnut brown hair staring out at us with a rather large smile. "Welcome to Shibuya Psychic Research! Please come in and have a seat."

"Mai…?" I croak out slightly, feeling my heart starting to fall out of my chest.

Mika easily pulls me in behind her, quickly moving to sit me in a chair at the end of a long table.

"Ah, Yamatoku. Thank you for joining us today." Oliver easily chuckles, coming out of a small room that he probably uses like an office. Between his strangely professional behavior and the machinery on the table in front of me, I start to piece together what's going to happen. Then, Lin walks in and my entire body freezes at the sight of the man I haven't seen for several days. "Pink is a good color on you.

"Mika's letting me… Borrow this." I croak quietly, looking away from the two men when familiar voices, locked in an argument, start to echo in the hallway outside of the room.

"Either way. Has anyone told you what we're going to be doing today?" The young man smiles as he takes a seat at the other end of the table and the tall onmyoji takes up residence at a small desk a few feet away.

Shaking my head in response, the sound of arguing continues to get closer and a group of four burst into the room. A woman with dark red hair, a girl with black hair wearing a kimono, a blond boy and a golden brown haired man. They get quiet as soon as they enter, and quickly move to take seats on either side of the table.

"Remember that test I wanted you to try. That's what we're going to be doing. All you have to do is hit a few buttons. Try to guess bulb will light up and press the corresponding button." Naru explains, tapping a few buttons on the device in front of him.

"Alright." I answer, resisting the urge to glare at my friend.

I'm not sure just how long the test goes for and I lose count after the first couple of hundred button presses, but by the time we finish I know that all eyes in the room are glued to me.

"That's… Pretty damn impressive." I can hear Takigawa whisper from a few feet away.

"I thought…" I can hear the miko whisper to herself staring in awe.

"True. She went through much more vigorous tests when she was five, but they never indicated anything." Naru stares at the screen in front of him.

"I think I've only heard of someone getting that many right once or twice." The young medium whispers.

"I'm pretty sure someone put a binding spell on her powers." The onmyoji speaks from his small desk where he's typing endlessly at something.

"How many did she get right exactly, Naru?" Mai pipes up from a few feet away with a try of teacups in her hands.

"Out of one thousand… Every single one." He answers and the young girl's face just freezes with a strange look of shock. "And what did you mean, Lin?"

"While I was watching over her a couple of weeks ago. One day she could only do a little astral projection, the next she was able to see and hear things that she couldn't before." Lin replies, not even lifting his gaze from his screen.

"Lot of good… That's done me…" I squeak quietly before my hands move to either side of my head and my field of vision is taken over by blood and leaves. "These visions… Really suck, too."

"Yamatoku, if it's alright with you…" Naru starts turning his attention to me. "I would like to be able to call you in for consultation on future cases."

"You're going to… Whether I say no… or not…" I reply, looking towards that stubborn scientist. I suppose, working with this strange group every now and again could probably help that young boy stuck between life and death.

And perhaps, I could even learn to control these strange new abilities.

* * *

 **Author's note: To those that made it this far thank you for reading! I know I took my time with it, and I hope you found it worth the wait! I'm probably going to start on a sequel to this pretty soon. Thank you, again!**


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